Technique for electronic funds escrow

ABSTRACT

A system, method and article of manufacture for integrated event tracking of an electronic escrow transaction. An instruction is received from a purchaser, via a network, to effect an electronic escrow transaction. The electronic funds escrow transaction arises out of a sale between a purchaser and a seller for goods or services purchased via a network. To effect the electronic escrow transaction, network communications are directed with each of the seller, the purchaser, and a financial institution. Each of these communications associated with effecting the electronic escrow transaction is stored in a memory.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates generally to electronic commerceand more particularly to electronic funds escrow transactions.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] Over the past several years an international network of networksknown as the Internet has become increasingly popular. The Internetallows millions of users throughout the world to communicate with eachother. To provide users with easier access to information available onthe Internet, a World Wide Web has been established. The World Wide Weballows information to be organized, searched and presented on theInternet using hypertext. Thus, using the World Wide Web a user cansubmit a query for information and be linked electronically toinformation of interest which has been stored at Web locations on theInternet. Using hypertext, a user can also communicate information toother users of the Internet. Because of the use of hypertext, theinformation which can be queried and retrieved via the Internet includesnot only textual information but also information in graphic, audio andvideo form. Web search engines and browsers have been developed to makesearching and retrieval of information of interest on the Web a simpletask. Hence, the Web has made it relatively easy for virtually anyonehaving access to a personal computer or other device connected to theInternet to communicate with others who are also connected to thenetwork. This ease of use has resulted in an increase in the number ofusers utilizing the Internet.

[0003] With the proliferation of Internet users, numerous services arenow provided over the Internet. One of the first such services to beoffered was electronic banking. Electronic banking allows bankingcustomers to access their account information and execute bankingtransactions, e.g. the transfer of funds from a savings to a checkingaccount, by simply linking to a bank server using the Internet to accessaccount information and communicate transfer instructions.

[0004] Electronic banking has advanced from this basic consumer-to-bankcommunication to a consumer being able to electronically pay bills andmake other payment types and fund transfers to others by communicatinginstructions, via the Internet, to a service provider possibly distinctfrom the financial institute maintaining deposited or credited funds ofa pre-registered payer. The payments are then made to the payee by theservice provider. The term “payment” as used herein can include paymentof bills as well as other payments not based upon bills. Funds from thepayer's deposit or credit account, i.e. the payer's payment account, aredebited by the service provider to cover the payment. The payment by theservice provider to the payee can be made in any number of ways.

[0005] For example, the service provider may electronically transferfunds from the payer's banking account to the payee's banking account,may electronically transfer funds from a service provider's bankingaccount, to the payee's banking account, may prepare a paper draft orcheck on the service provider's banking account and mail it to thepayee, may prepare an electronically printed paper draft on the payer'sbanking account and mail it to the payee, or may make a wire transferfrom either the service provider's banking account or the payer'sbanking account.

[0006] If the funds transferred to the payee are drawn from the serviceprovider's banking account, funds from the payer's banking account areelectronically or otherwise transferred to the service provider'sbanking account to cover the payment. Further, if the payment will bemade from funds in the service provider's banking account, the paymentwill preferably be consolidated with payments being made to the samepayee on behalf of other payers.

[0007] Accordingly, such electronic payment systems eliminate the needfor a payer to write or print paper checks and then forward them by mailto the payee. This makes it easier and more efficient for the payer tomake payments. Payees receiving consolidated payments no longer have todeal with checks from each payee and therefore can process payments moreefficiently. The making of payments by the electronic or wire transferof funds provides even meets or exceeds a second predetermined amount.The first and second predetermined amounts can be different amounts. Therisk analysis can also include sending an inquiry to, and receiving aresponse from, a financial institution to determine availability offunds in the payer's account. The Kight patent utilizes both paper andelectronic fund transfer. The risk processing in the Kight patent restsat least in part upon a decision between moving funds electronically orvia less efficient paper means.

[0008] Accordingly, a need exists for a technique in which a paymentrequest is timely and efficiently processed and executed, yet theservice provider is protected from financial risk.

[0009] Merchants have begun to exploit the Internet's capabilities intheir marketing of goods and services, i.e. products. Numerous merchantshave now established virtual storefronts using a hypertext document,commonly referred to as a Web homepage, which users can access over theInternet. The merchant's homepage will typically provide informationregarding products, and will often provide the prospective customer withthe option to purchase a desired product by making the necessaryselections and providing the necessary information to the merchant viathe Internet. Hence, the Web offers a new and exciting channel formarketing goods and services, providing merchants with direct access tomillions of potential buyers throughout the world in a manner which hasnever before been possible.

[0010] In order to ensure payment for products and services ordered overthe Internet, merchants have typically offered the purchaser the abilityto pay using credit or debit cards. Such cards are now widely usedthroughout the world to make purchases without cash. Credit cardsbasically extend a payment credit to the credit card holder. Debitcards, on the other hand, basically provide a means for debiting thecardholder's deposit account funds held by an issuing financialinstitute. As in traditional brick-and-mortar businesses, Web-basedbusinesses typically pay a premium to financial institutions to be ableto offer payment via credit and/or debit cards.

[0011] Also, individual sellers and purchasers have been broughttogether via the Internet. Sellers advertise goods for sale in a varietyof sites on the Internet, and otherwise. These include personalhomepages and public electronic bulletin boards. These individualsellers usually do not have the resources to accept payment via creditor debit cards. As discussed above, there is a cost associated withthese transactions which makes it economically unfeasible forindividuals to accept payment via these methods. Furthermore, thesesellers usually do not have the technical expertise to maintain ahomepage capable of accepting credit or debit card payments. As such, anindividual purchaser typically pays an individual seller by check ormoney order. When payment is by check or money order, the seller mustdivulge to the purchaser his or her address. For payments by moneyorder, the purchaser must purchase a money order and mail the moneyorder to the seller. Thus, the period between the agreement to purchaseand the receipt of the funds associated with the sale is dependent uponthe time it takes to obtain a money order and deliver it to the seller.For payments made by check, in addition to the delivery time, thepurchaser must reveals his or her personal information contained on thebody of the check to the seller. Also, the seller is not assured thatthe check will be honored by the financial institution upon which it isdrawn.

[0012] The latest development in bringing buyers and sellers togetherover the Internet are Web sites designed as auctions. Auctions are thenewest, most convenient way to buy and sell things over the Internet.The auctions are typically hosted by Web sites which exclusively offerauctions or Internet portal sites which offer an array of services,though other types of Web sites also offer auctions. These sitesoffering Internet auctions will collectively be referred to as AuctionService Providers. These Auction Service Providers have created anon-line arena where users can register and become buyers or sellers inthe auction. On-line auctions work similarly to standard auctions wherethe sellers have a particular item they would like to sell to thehighest bidder. Typically an auction time frame is established that mayspan a few days to a few weeks to allow buyers an opportunity to place abid. Bidding typically accelerates toward the end of the auction orbidding period. If a seller offers an item for auction and a bid ismade, the seller is typically obligated to complete the transaction.Buyers may not retract a bid once it has been placed. The AuctionService Providers are creating a forum for this type of trading, but arenot typically involved in the transaction between the buyer and seller.

[0013] Once bidding is over, the buyer is obligated to contact theseller within a designated number of days from the close of the auction,to discuss how to handle the shipping and payment for the merchandise.Buyers and sellers are both asked to register and to accept agreementsto comply with the standard guidelines provided by the Auction ServiceProvider.

[0014] Registration information is required for both the buyers andsellers of the auctions. The registrations ensure that both parties haveprovided the necessary information to allow contact with each other whenit is time to conduct a transaction. Contact information usuallycontains a name and a mailing address.

[0015] Some providers require each participant to reply to aconfirmation e-mail in order to verify the information and that theyhave supplied a valid e-mail address. A user identification may also beused to allow the service provider to keep individual e-mail addressesprivate. In some cases a notification e-mail is sent to both buyer andseller to supply each with the other's e-mail address. Typically,contact should be made between both parties within 2 or 3 business days.Guidelines vary, but usually if the seller is able to contact the buyerwithin an agreed upon timeframe, that seller may then conduct histransaction with the next highest bidder.

[0016] Usually, the winning buyer at the auction site receives an e-mailfrom the service provider telling him that he has placed the winning bidand that he needs to contact the seller to finish the transaction. Or,this notification may be made via conventional postal delivery. Oncecontact has been made between the buyer and the seller, each must agreeupon the terms of the transaction. They may agree that the buyer makespayment first, and then the seller may ship the item once payment hascleared. The seller may also agree to ship the item COD to the buyer.The Auction Service Provider is not usually involved in thesedirections, as they have merely provided an environment that facilitatesthe buying and selling of merchandise.

[0017] There are usually some standard payment methods suggested by theAuction Service Provider to the buyers and sellers. Typical paymentmethods are credit cards, money orders and checks drawn on buyers'accounts. If the parties to the transaction agree on a credit card ordebit card payment, the service provider may act as a processingintermediary for the transaction.

[0018] Many individuals, whether purchasing goods and services frommerchants or individuals via the Internet, or from an Internet auctionsite, do not wish to use debit or credit cards, or send banking accountnumbers over the Internet due to security concerns. This is because theInternet is an open communication network with virtually no built-insecurity.

[0019] Various techniques have been proposed for overcoming thereluctance on the part of potential purchasers to transmit their cardnumbers or account numbers over the Internet. Many of the proposedtechniques rely on cryptography. Using these techniques, credit anddebit card numbers are encrypted prior to transmission over the Internetto the seller and decrypted prior to storage at the merchant's Web site.These techniques may well alleviate concerns regarding the vulnerabilityof sensitive account information during transmission over the Internet.However, there remains a concern that, because the decrypted credit ordebit card account numbers are stored on merchant computers, e.g. Webservers, connected to the Internet, this information will continue to besusceptible to attach by hackers and others who may attempt to gainunauthorized access to the information from virtually anywhere in theworld. Although firewalls and other security measures can be taken toprotect the stored information from unauthorized intruders, manymerchants have neither the resources nor the expertise to implement suchmeasures. Hence, encrypted transmission alone does not eliminate thesecurity concern of many cardholders.

[0020] Others have proposed establishing what might be termed “virtualcash” which can be transferred from a purchaser's computer to a seller'scomputer to pay for a product or service bought via the Internet. Theseller can then go to the “virtual cash” sponsor and exchange the“virtual cash” for actual cash. However, these techniques require theestablishment of a new electronic monetary system and are reliant uponthe financial worthiness of the to “virtual cash” sponsor.

[0021] Still other proposed techniques utilize a type of “virtual cash,”which is associated with a purchaser's banking account at a financialinstitute. Using such a system the buyer transfers the “virtual cash”along with its banking account number to the merchant as payment for thepurchased products. The merchant then transfers the “virtual cash” tothe financial institute, at which the purchaser maintains the depositaccount. The financial institute then debits the purchaser's bankingaccount by the amount represented by the “virtual cash” transferred tothe seller and pays the seller using the funds withdrawn from thepurchaser's banking account. These latter techniques have many of thesame problems associated with the use of credit and debit cards. Thatis, the banking account number must be transmitted over the Internet andstored at the seller's Web site, and accordingly may be susceptible tounauthorized access.

[0022] Potential purchasers of goods and services over the Internet havealso raised concerns regarding the transfer of credit card, debit cardand deposit account numbers, as well as the transfer of “virtual cash”payments to merchants/sellers which have little history or tradepresence. In this regard, potential purchasers may have a valid concerna Web merchant/seller is nothing more than a front for fraudulentlyobtaining credit card account numbers, debit card account numbers,deposit account numbers and/or virtual cash from unsuspectingpurchasers.

[0023] Techniques have additionally been proposed to provide a separateprivate network for transmission of sensitive account relatedinformation. These techniques do provide an extra measure of security,but are disadvantageous in that an auxiliary communication network isrequired and the potential purchaser is forced to first divert his orher attention from the merchant's/seller's Web site, connect with aseparate network, and to then go back to the merchant's/seller's Website to conclude the transaction.

[0024] As discussed, many consumers are unwilling to use debit or creditcards, or transmit their banking account numbers, over the Internet,especially to unknown merchants/sellers. In the context of an individualseller, some buyers do not feel comfortable divulging personalinformation such as banking account numbers to strangers. Furthermore,some consumers do not have access to debit or credit cards, but do havebanking accounts. As such, whether unwilling to use debit or creditcards via the Internet, or unable to use debit or credit cards, theseconsumers have not had the means to make purchases via the Internet.

[0025] Accordingly, a need exists for a technique to purchase goods andservices via the Internet with funds from a purchaser's banking accountwithout divulging personal information relating to purchasers andsellers via a network.

[0026] In transactions between individuals and brick-and-mortar storesthere are well known procedures for a customer to return unacceptablemerchandise. Also, the goods or services offered by the brick-and-mortarstores are typically immediately available to the purchaser. ForInternet based transactions, the seller must ship goods to thepurchaser, or perform services for the purchaser at a later time thanexecution of the transaction. Some Internet based business haveprocedures in place for return of unacceptable goods, but the purchasermust rely in good faith that the unacceptable goods will be acceptedback by the business. However, in Internet transactions betweenindividuals, no such procedures exist. Thus, purchasers have to rely onthe good faith of sellers that the goods or services are as represented.Additionally, purchasers have to rely in good faith that sellers willdeliver the purchased goods and/or services. Likewise, sellers must relyupon good faith that sellers will make prompt payment, and that thatpayment will be “good.” This applies to transactions between individualsin both on-line auction and non-auction transactions.

[0027] A proposed solution to this dual problem exists. There aremiddlemen with a presence on the Internet who will accept both the salepayment from the purchaser and the goods from the seller. Thesemiddlemen verify the exchange. That is, they verify that goods areactually provided by the seller, and that funds are actually obtainedfrom the purchaser, and then release the goods to the purchaser and thefunds to the seller. However, oftentimes these middlemen are not in aposition to judge the quality of the merchandise. For example, themerchandise may be a rare collectible with which a middleman may beunfamiliar. Also, this proposed solution adds extra shipping costs tothe transaction. Instead of the goods being shipped from the seller tothe purchaser, the goods must first be shipped from the seller to amiddleman, and then from a middleman to the purchaser.

[0028] Accordingly, a need exists for an efficient technique whichensures that a purchaser receives what he bargained for, including aguaranteed return if the goods are not acceptable, and that the sellerwill be paid for delivered goods and services.

[0029] Another difficulty with Internet based purchases is that thepurchaser has no way to know if the seller has actually shipped thegoods, or performed the services. The purchaser who has paid for aproduct must wait for delivery of the goods, or performance of theservices.

[0030] Accordingly, a need exists for a technique whereby a purchasercan be informed of the delivery or performance status of the purchase.

[0031] Yet another service now provided over the Internet is thedelivery of electronic greeting cards via e-mail. Many Web sites offersuch services. Electronic greeting cards are available for a myriad ofoccasions, as are paper greeting cards. However, electronic greetingcards have at least one disadvantage compared traditional paper greetingcards. Many senders include monetary gifts along with paper greetingcards. These gifts are typically in the form of cash, check, or giftcertificate. With present electronic greeting cards, there is no way toinclude such a monetary gift.

[0032] Accordingly, a need exists for a technique for a donor to send amonetary gift payment via e-mail to a recipient.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION

[0033] Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention toprovide a technique in which a payment request is timely and efficientlyprocessed, yet a provider of a payment service is protected fromfinancial risk.

[0034] It is another objective of the present invention to provide atechnique to protect both purchasers and sellers in electronic commercetransactions.

[0035] It is another objective of the present invention to provide atechnique whereby a purchaser is aware of the delivery status of goods,or performance status of services, purchased via a network.

[0036] It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide atechnique whereby the parties to a transaction can retain anonymity.

[0037] It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide atechnique whereby funds can be donated via a network.

[0038] It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide atechnique whereby a party may register for and utilize the services ofan electronic payment service in a single on-line session.

[0039] Additional objects, advantages, novel features of the presentinvention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from thisdisclosure, including the following detailed description, as well as bypractice of the invention. While the invention is described below withreference to preferred embodiment(s), it should be understood that theinvention is not limited thereto. Those of ordinary skill in the arthaving access to the teachings herein will recognize additionalimplementations, modifications, and embodiments, as well as other fieldsof use, which are within the scope of the invention as disclosed andclaimed herein and with respect to which the invention could be ofsignificant utility.

SUMMARY DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

[0040] The present invention provides a method for integrated eventtracking of electronic escrow transactions and a system and article ofmanufacture for implementing the method. The system includes at leastone processor, a memory for storing data, and a communications port fortransmitting and receiving information. The processor may be any typeprocessor, such as a personal computer, high powered workstation, orsophisticated mainframe computer. The memory may be any type of memorycapable of storing data, including random access memory, floppy or hardmagnetic disk, or optical disk. Data stored in the memory and dataprocessed by the processor are exchanged between the processor and thememory. The data can include escrow transaction information andoperating instructions for controlling the operations of the processor.The communications port communicates with one or more networksconfigured to transmit electronic or optical data. The networks caninclude a public or private telephone network, the Internet, a privatebanking network, or any other type network.

[0041] In accordance with the invention, the processor directscommunications with a seller, a purchaser, at least one financialinstitution, and other entities as necessary, to effect an electronicescrow transaction. Directing communications includes both receiving andtransmitting information. Each of these communications are logged andstored in the memory.

[0042] The communications to and from the different parties may bee-mail communications made via the Internet, or some other network, theymay be via a Web page transmitted via the World Wide Web or some othernetwork, or they may be some other form of electronic communication,including wireless communications. Communications to the purchaser caninclude notices notifying the purchaser of actions performed by theseller, by a financial institution, by the processor, or by some otherentity. Communications to the purchaser can also include noticesdirecting the purchaser to perform some action. Communications to theseller can include notices notifying the seller of actions performed bythe purchaser, by a financial institution, by the processor, or by someother entity. Communications to the seller can also include noticesdirecting the seller to perform some action. The seller may be anindividual or a business. The purchaser, likewise, may be an individualor a business.

[0043] Communications to a financial institution may be made via theInternet, or some other network. Financial institution communicationsinclude directing debits and/or credits to accounts maintained at thefinancial institution and directing debit authorizations whereby fundavailability is verified and an amount of funds are reserved. Theseaccounts belong to the seller, the purchaser, and a processing agent,with whom the processor is associated. Each account may be a creditaccount, deposit account, or other type account. The financialinstitution may be three financial institutions, one associated with theseller, one associated with the purchaser, and one associated with theprocessing agent. Or, the financial institution may be two financialinstitutions, one associated with the purchaser, and one associated withboth the seller and the processing agent. Or, one of the two financialinstitutions may be associated with the seller, and the other associatedwith both the purchaser and the processing agent. Or, one of the twofinancial institutions may be associated with the processing agent, andthe other associated with both the purchaser and the seller.

[0044] The processor logs and stores in the memory each of thecommunications received by or transmitted by the processor in effectingthe electronic escrow transaction. The communications may be stored in ageneral memory, or they may be stored in one or more specializeddatabases for escrow transactions. Preferably, the memory stores anindication of the date and time of the communications.

[0045] The electronic escrow transaction assures payment for, andacceptable delivery of goods, or performance of services. The sale ofthe goods or services originates between the purchaser and the sellervia a network, preferably the Internet. The seller may be a merchant whomaintains a Web homepage advertising goods and/or services for sale. Or,the seller may be an individual with a Web homepage advertising goodsand/or services for sale. The individual seller may post goods orservices for sale on an electronic bulletin board. Or, the seller mayoffer goods and/or services for sale on an Internet auction site. Insuch a case, the purchaser is the winning bidder for the goods and/orservices.

[0046] Beneficially, the processor can be configured to send and receivespecific notices and directions via a network. The processor can beconfigured to receive from the purchaser, via a network by way of thecommunications port, an instruction to effect the electronic escrowtransaction. This instruction can include, among other data, informationidentifying the seller and the amount of the payment to the seller. Theprocessor stores an indication of the received instruction in thememory. The indication can include, in addition to the paymentinstruction, information identifying the purchaser and other datapertaining to the sale transaction.

[0047] The processor may also be configured to initiate a debit from anaccount associated with the purchaser. This debit may be initiated viathe automated clearinghouse banking network, or some other network. Or,the debit may be initiated in some other form, such as a wire transfer,check or draft drawn on the purchaser account, or debit authorization.The processor stores an indication of initiation of the debit from thepurchaser account in the memory. The processor is also configured toinitiate a credit to an account associated with the seller. This credit,like the debit, may be initiated via the automated clearinghouse bankingnetwork, or some other network, or in some other form. The processorstores an indication of initiation of the credit to the seller accountin the memory.

[0048] Beneficially, the processor can be configured to initiate a debitfrom an account associated with the processing agent. This debit, too,may be initiated via the automated clearinghouse banking network, orsome other network, or in some other form. The processor stores anindication of initiation of the debit from the account associated withthe processing agent. In this case, the processor is also configured toinitiate a credit to an account associated with the seller, and asabove, store an indication in the memory of initiation of the credit.The credit to the seller account is a corresponding credit to the debitfrom the processing agent account. That is, the debit from theprocessing agent account results in the credit to the seller account.

[0049] In another beneficial aspect of the invention, the processingagent is configured to transmit a notice, through the communicationsport and over the network, to the seller that funds from the purchaseraccount are available and that the seller should thus ship the goods to,or provide the service for, the purchaser. The processor stores anindication of this notice having been transmitted in the memory. Thisnotice assures the seller that he or she will receive payment for thegoods or services.

[0050] Further, this notice may be transmitted after a predeterminedperiod beginning at initiation of a debit to the purchaser account haselapsed. This period may be any period. The period may be the same forall electronic escrow transactions effected by the processor, or it maybe shortened or lengthened depending upon various factors and analyses.Or, the notice may be transmitted after funds from the purchaser accountare credited to the processing agent account. The notice may betransmitted after both the period has elapsed and the funds have beencredited, or upon the occurrence of either of these conditions.

[0051] The processor may also be configured to perform other especiallypreferred operations. The processor may receive, via the communicationsport, a notice sent via a network that the goods have been shipped to,or that the services have been performed for, the purchaser. This noticemay be sent by the seller, by a shipping agent, both seller and shippingagent, or another entity. If sent by both the seller and the shippingagent, a single notice may be sent by the shipping agent to the seller,and then by the seller to the processor. Or, both the shipping agent andthe seller may send a notice of shipment to the processor. The processorstores in the memory an indication that this notice of shipment, orperformance, has been received. Thereafter, the processor may transmitanother separate notice to the purchaser that the seller has shipped thegoods or performed the service. An indication of this notice to thepurchaser is also stored in the memory.

[0052] As a further benefit, the notice of shipment or performance caninclude a delivery tracking number. Typically, these numbers are issuedby a shipping agent and are used to confirm shipping and track shippedpackages, though they may be issued by a seller or generated theprocessor. A delivery tracking number may be included when the purchaseis for goods, obviously not when the purchase is for a service to beperformed by the seller.

[0053] In another aspect of the invention, the processor can beconfigured to receive, via the communications port, a notice sent over anetwork that the goods have been received from the seller and areacceptable, or that the seller has acceptably performed the service.This notice confirms that the purchaser is satisfied with the goods orservices. An indication of this notice is also stored in the memory.This notice may be sent by the purchaser the shipping agent, the seller,or another entity. If sent by the seller, the notice is preferablygenerated by the shipping agent, transmitted to the seller, and thenforwarded to the processor. Also, a notice of acceptance be receivedfrom each of the purchaser, the seller, and the shipping agent. Or, fromthe purchaser and either of the seller or the shipping agent.

[0054] In yet another aspect of the invention, the processor isconfigured to initiate credit to the seller account subsequent toreceiving the notice that the seller has fulfilled his or herobligations, whether that be delivery of acceptable goods, or acceptableperformance of services. An indication of initiation of the credit tothe seller account is stored in the memory.

[0055] Beneficially, the processor may be configured to receive, via thenetwork, notice that the goods have been shipped, or the services havingbeen performed. An indication of receipt of this notice is stored in thememory. A credit is initiated to an account associated with the sellerafter a predetermined period, beginning upon receipt of the notice, haselapsed. This notice can be received from one or both of the seller or ashipping agent.

[0056] In an especially beneficial aspect of the invention, theprocessor may be configured to receive, via the network, notice that thepurchaser is not satisfied with the goods or services. That is, thenotice may include information indicating that the goods have beenreceived, but are not acceptable. The notice may include informationindicating that the goods were not delivered. The notice may includeinformation indicating that the services were not acceptably performed,or that they were not performed at all. An indication of this notice isstored in the memory. The notice may be sent by the purchaser, ashipping agent, both purchaser and shipping agent, or another entity.

[0057] Optionally, this notice can include a notice to suspend a pendingcredit to the seller account. The pending credit is a credit for paymentof the purchased goods or service. Or, this notice can include a noticeto reverse a debit to the purchaser account. This debit is a debit offunds for the purchase of the goods or service.

[0058] Preferably, the processor is configured to receive from at leastone of the purchaser, the shipping agent, both the purchaser andshipping agent, or another entity, via the communications port, a noticesent over the network, that the goods have been shipped back to theseller. An indication of this notice is stored in the memory. Theprocessor is also configured to transmit to the seller, over thenetwork, a notice that the goods are being shipped back to the sellerfrom the purchaser. An indication of this notice is also stored in thememory. Beneficially, the notice that the goods have been shipped backto the seller includes a delivery tracking number issued by a shippingagent.

[0059] In yet another advantageous aspect of the invention, theprocessor may be configured to receive from one of the seller, theshipping agent, both, or some other entity, via the communications port,a notice sent over a network that the goods have been received from thepurchaser. An indication of this notice is stored in the memory.

[0060] The processor may also be configured to initiate a credit to thepurchaser account and to store an indication of initiation of thiscredit in the memory. This credit is initiated either after receipt of anetwork notice indicating that the goods have been returned from thepurchaser and accepted by the seller, or after a predetermined period,beginning at notifying the seller that the purchaser has return shippedthe goods to the seller, has elapsed. This period may be any period. Thenotice may be received from at least one or both of the seller or ashipping agent. As above, either or both conditions may be met beforethe credit is initiated.

[0061] Also, the processor may be configured to initiate a debit fromthe purchaser account, initiate a credit to an escrow account associatedwith the processing agent, initiate a debit to the escrow account, andinitiate a credit to the seller account. The debit from the purchaseraccount and the credit to the escrow account are both a part of the samefinancial transaction. Funds from the purchaser account are depositedinto the escrow account. The escrow account is an account whichmaintains funds obtained from a purchaser and not released to a selleruntil the seller has fulfilled his or her obligations in a saletransaction. The debit from the escrow account and the credit to theseller account are both a part of the same financial transaction. Anindication of the initiation of the debit from the purchaser account isstored in the memory. Also, an indication of the initiation of thecredit to the seller account is stored in the memory.

[0062] Especially advantageous, the communication port may be configuredto receive an instruction to direct execution of an electronic escrowtransaction via a Web page. This Web page is generated subsequent to thepurchaser selecting a hyper-link. This hyper-link is presented to thepurchaser by an Internet Web site offering goods or services for sale.The Internet Web site may be a Web site belonging to an individual, maybelong to a merchant, or may belong to an Internet auction site. The Webpage presented to the purchaser includes details of a purchasetransaction made from the Internet Web site. These details can include adescription of the goods or services purchased and informationidentifying the parties to the transaction, among other information.

[0063] Beneficially, the processor may also be configured to retrieveany of the stored communications from the memory. They may be retrievedby the purchaser, the seller, or other entities in communication withthe processor.

[0064] In yet another advantageous aspect, the processor is furtherconfigured to receive, from a shipping agent, a first notice that thegoods have been delivered to the purchaser. An indication of receipt ofthis first notice is stored. The processor is also configured toreceive, from the purchaser, a second notice that the goods areacceptable. An indication of receipt of this second notice is alsostored. The processor initiates a credit to an account associated withthe seller.

[0065] The credit may be initiated upon the occurrence of either of twoconditions, or upon the occurrence of both conditions. In a firstcondition, the credit is initiated after a predetermined period haselapsed. This predetermined period begins upon receipt of the firstnotice. The second condition is receipt of the second notice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0066]FIG. 1 depicts exemplary networks of the present invention andusers of the networks.

[0067]FIG. 2 depicts the enclosed community in accordance with thepresent invention populated with registered purchasers, registeredsellers, and a processing agent.

[0068]FIG. 3 depicts the communications, in a first alternative, toregister a user with the processing agent of the present invention.

[0069]FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operations which are, in afirst alternative, performed by a registering user and the processingagent of the present invention to register a registering user.

[0070]FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the operations which are, fin asecond alternative, performed by a registering user and the processingagent of the present invention to register a registering user.

[0071]FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the operations which are, in athird alternative, performed by a registering user and the processingagent of the present invention to register a registering user.

[0072]FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the operations which are, in afourth alternative, performed by a registering user and the processingagent of the present invention to register a registering user.

[0073]FIG. 8 depicts the communications, in a second alternative, toregister a user with the processing agent of the present invention.

[0074]FIG. 9 depicts a computer suitable for use by a registered user toaccess the Internet in accordance with the invention.

[0075]FIG. 10 is an exemplary block diagram of components of thecomputer depicted in FIG. 9.

[0076]FIG. 11A depicts an Internet server suitable for use by theprocessing agent in accordance with the present invention.

[0077]FIG. 11B is an exemplary block diagram of components of the serverdepicted in FIG. 11A.

[0078]FIG. 12 depicts the communications between various registeredusers and the processing agent depicted in FIG. 2 to effect a saletransaction in accordance with the present invention.

[0079]FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing the operations which are performedby the registered users and processing agent to effect a saletransaction in accordance with the present invention.

[0080]FIG. 14 depicts the communication between various registered usersand the processing agent depicted in FIG. 2, in a first alternative, toeffect an escrow transaction in accordance with the present invention.

[0081]FIG. 15A-C are flow charts showing the operations which areperformed by the registered users and processing agent, in a firstalternative, to effect an escrow transaction in accordance with thepresent invention.

[0082]FIG. 16 depicts the communications between various registeredusers and the processing agent depicted in FIG. 2, in a secondalternative, to effect an escrow transaction in accordance with thepresent invention.

[0083]FIG. 17A is a flow chart showing the operations which areperformed by the registered users and processing agent, in a secondalternative, to effect an escrow transaction in accordance with thepresent invention.

[0084]FIGS. 17B and 17C are flow charts showing the operations which areperformed by the registered users and processing agent, in a thirdalternative, to effect an escrow transaction in accordance with thepresent invention.

[0085]FIG. 18A depicts the communications between various registeredusers and the processing agent depicted in FIG. 2, in a firstalternative, to effect a gift payment in accordance with the presentinvention.

[0086]FIG. 18B depicts the communications between various registeredusers and the processing agent depicted in FIG. 2, in a secondalternative, to effect a gift payment in accordance with the presentinvention.

[0087]FIGS. 19A and 19B are flow charts showing the operations which areperformed by the registered users and processing agent, in a firstalternative, to effect a gift payment in accordance with the presentinvention.

[0088]FIG. 19C is a flow chart showing the operations which areperformed by the registered users and processing agent, in a secondalternative, to effect a gift payment in accordance with the presentinvention.

[0089]FIG. 20 depicts the communication between various registeredusers, a shipping agent, and the processing agent, in a firstalternative, to effect a payment-upon-delivery transaction in accordancewith the present invention.

[0090]FIG. 21 is a flow chart showing the operations which are performedby the registered users, shipping agent, and processing agent, in thefirst alternative, to effect a payment-upon-delivery transaction inaccordance with the present invention.

[0091]FIG. 22 depicts the communication between various registeredusers, a shipping agent, and the processing agent, in a secondalternative, to effect a payment-upon-delivery transaction in accordancewith the present invention.

[0092]FIG. 23 is a flow chart showing the operations which are performedby the registered users, shipping agent, and processing agent, in thesecond alternative, to effect a payment-upon-delivery transaction inaccordance with the present invention.

[0093]FIG. 24 depicts the communication between various registeredusers, a shipping agent, and the processing agent, in a thirdalternative, to effect a payment-upon-delivery transaction in accordancewith the present invention.

[0094]FIG. 25 is a flow chart showing the operations which are performedby the registered users, shipping agent, and processing agent, in thethird alternative, to effect a payment-upon-delivery transaction inaccordance with the present invention.

[0095]FIG. 26 depicts the communications between various registeredusers and the processing agent depicted in FIG. 2, in a firstalternative, to effect an electronic gift certificate donation inaccordance with the present invention.

[0096]FIGS. 27A and 27B are flow charts showing the operations which areperformed by the registered users and processing agent, in a firstalternative, to effect an electronic gift certificate donation inaccordance with the present invention.

[0097]FIG. 28 depicts the communications between various registeredusers and the processing agent depicted in FIG. 2, in a secondalternative, to effect an electronic gift certificate donation.

[0098]FIG. 29 is a flow chart showing the operations which are performedby the registered users and processing agent, in a second alternative,to effect an electronic gift certificate donation in accordance with thepresent invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0099] As shown in FIG. 1, network 100 interconnects multiple registeredpurchasers 110A-110N, multiple registered sellers 120A-120N and aprocessing agent 130. The network 100 is shown to be the Internet, butcould be virtually any type of network. Also shown is a network 140interconnecting processing agent 130 and multiple financial institutes150A-150N, each financial institute is associated with at least one ofthe purchasers 110A-110N, sellers 120A-120N, or processing agent 130.The network 140 is shown to be a private financial institute network,such as the currently existing bank network over which it is quietcommon to electronically transfer funds between banks. Here again, thenetwork 140 could be another type of network interconnecting theprocessing agent 130 to financial institutes 150A-150N. It should beunderstood that each of the registered purchasers 110A-110N and theregistered sellers 120A-120N can be both a purchaser and a seller.Furthermore, a registered purchaser may be either an individual or abusiness, and a registered seller may be either an individual or abusiness. Also, the processing agent 130 can also be referred to as apayment service provider.

[0100] Each of the registered purchasers 110A-110N and registeredsellers 120A-120N is preferably represented on the network 100 by acomputer of the type depicted in FIGS. 9 and 10, which will be describedfurther below. However, it should be recognized that virtually anynetwork device could be utilized so long as the device has sufficientprocessing and communication capabilities to function in the describedmanner. The term “network device” includes personal digital assistants(PDA's), telephones, including cellular and/or digital telephones, andset-top boxes, among other devices. It will also be understood that anetwork device may connect to a network via wireless communications.

[0101]FIGS. 9 and 10 depict an exemplary personal computer suitable foruse by registered purchasers 110A-110N and registered sellers 120A-120Nto access the Internet 100 in the below-described invention. Thecomputer is preferably a commercially available personal computer. Itwill be recognized that the computer configuration is exemplary in thatother components (not shown) could be added or substituted for thosedepicted and certain of the depicted components could be eliminated ifdesired.

[0102] The computer functions in accordance with stored programminginstructions which drive its operation. Preferably, the computer storesits unique programming instructions on an EPROM, or hard disk. It willbe recognized that only routine programming is required to implement theinstructions required to drive the computer to operate in accordancewith the invention, as described below. Further, since the computercomponents and configuration are conventional, routine operationsperformed by depicted components will generally not be described, suchoperations being well understood in the art.

[0103] Referring to FIG. 9, the computer 1000 includes a main unit 1010with slots 1011, 1012, and 1013, respectively provided for loadingprogramming or data from a floppy disk, compact disk (CD), hard disk,and/or other storage means, onto the computer 1000. The computer 1000also includes a keyboard 1030 and mouse 1040 which serve as user inputdevices. A display monitor 1020 is also provided to visually communicateinformation to the user.

[0104] As depicted in FIG. 10, the computer 1000 has a main processor1100 which is interconnected via bus 1110 with various storage devicesincluding EPROM 1122, RAM 1123, hard drive 1124, which has an associatedhard disk 1125, CD drive 1126, which has an associated CD 1127, andfloppy drive 1128, which has an associated floppy disk 1129. Thememories, disks and CD all serve as storage media on which computerprogramming or data can be stored for access by the processor 1100. Adrive controller 1150 controls the hard drive 1124, CD drive 1126 andfloppy drive 1128. Also depicted in FIG. 10 is a display controller 1120interconnected to display interface 1121, a keyboard controller 1130interconnected to keyboard interface 1131, a mouse controller 1140interconnected to mouse interface 1141 and a modem 1160 interconnectedto I/O port 1165, all of which are connected to the bus 1110. The modem1160 and interconnected I/O port 1165 are used to transmit and receivesignals via the Internet 100 as described below. It will be understoodthat other components may be connected if desired to the bus 1110,including communications components other than a modem. By accessing thestored computer programming, the processor 1100 is driven to operate inaccordance with the present invention.

[0105] Processing agent 130 is preferably represented on networks 100and 140 by an Internet server of the applicable type shown in FIGS. 11Aand 11B, as will be described further below. However, here again, anynetwork compatible device which is capable of functioning in thedescribed manner could be substituted for the servers shown in FIGS. 11Aand 11B.

[0106]FIGS. 11A and 11B depict an exemplary network server suitable foruse by the processing agent 130 to access networks 100 and 140 in thebelow-described invention. The server is preferably a commerciallyavailable high power, mini-computer or mainframe computer. Here again,it will be recognized that the server configuration is exemplary in thatother components (not shown) could be added or substituted for thosedepicted and certain of the depicted components could be eliminated ifdesired.

[0107] The server functions as described below in accordance with storedprogramming instructions which drive its operation. Preferably, theserver stores its unique programming instructions on an EPROM or harddisk. It will be recognized that only routine programming is required toimplement the instructions required to drive the server to operate inaccordance with the invention, as described below. Further, since theserver components and configuration are conventional, routine operationsperformed by depicted components will generally not be described, suchoperations being well understood in the art.

[0108] Referring to FIG. 11A, the server 1000′ includes a main unit1010′ with slots 1011′, 1012′, 1013′ and 1014′, respectively providedfor loading programming or data from a floppy disk, CD, hard disk,and/or other storage means onto the server 1000′. The server 1000′ alsoincludes a keyboard 1030′ and mouse 1040′, which serve as user inputdevices. A display monitor 1020′ is also provided to visuallycommunicate information to the user.

[0109] As depicted in FIG. 11B, the server 1000′ has a main processor1100′ which is interconnected via bus 1110′ with various storage devicesincluding EPROM 1122′, RAM 1123′, hard drive 1124′, which has anassociated hard disk 1125′, CD drive 1126′, which has an associated CD1127′, and floppy drive 1128′, which has an associated floppy disk1129′. The memories, disks and CD all serve as storage media on whichcomputer programming or data can be stored for access by the processor1100′. The stored data includes one or more databases containinginformation associated with registered sellers 120A-120N, registeredpurchasers 110A-110N and transactions between various ones of theregistered sellers 120A-120N and the registered purchasers 110A-110N.The memories associated with the server hereafter will be collectivelyreferred to as memory 1170. A drive controller 1150′ controls the harddrive 1124′, CD drive 1126′ and floppy drive 1128′. Also depicted inFIG. 11B is a display controller 1120′ interconnected to displayinterface 1121′, a keyboard controller 1130′ interconnected to keyboardinterface 1130′, a mouse controller 1140′ interconnected to mouseinterface 1141′ and a modem 1160′ interconnected to I/O port 1165′, allof which are connected to the bus 1110′. The modem 1160′ andinterconnected I/O port 1165′ are used to transmit and receive signalsvia the Internet 100 as described above. It will be understood thatother components may be connected if desired to the bus 1110′, includingcommunications components other than a modem. By accessing the storedcomputer programming, the processor 1100′ is driven to operate inaccordance with the present invention.

[0110] As shown in FIG. 2, the registered purchasers 110A-110N,registered sellers 120A-120N, and processing agent 130 are part of anelectronic enclosed community 201. Registering user 205 is not a part ofthe enclosed community 201, and as such cannot utilize the services ofthe processing agent 130. Whereas, each of the registered purchasers110A-110N and registered sellers 120A-120N can utilize the servicesoffered by the processing agent 130. The financial institutions are notnecessarily a part of the enclosed community 201. For purposes of thefollowing discussion, the financial institutions are depicted as beingseparate from the enclosed community 201, however it should beunderstood that any of the financial institutions can be a registereduser.

[0111] Registered users, the purchasers and the sellers, interactdirectly with each other via the Internet 100. Registered purchasers110A-110N and registered sellers 120A-120N negotiate the terms offinancial transactions between one another. The registered purchasermakes payment to the registered seller via the services of theprocessing agent 130, which is also a part of the enclosed community201. The processing agent 130 directs payments between registered users.Preferably, the payments are made in the form of an electronic debit tothe registered purchaser's demand deposit account (DDA) and acorresponding electronic credit to the registered seller's (DDA). Debitsand credits can alternatively be made to accounts other than demanddeposit accounts, such as savings accounts, credit accounts andbrokerage accounts, among other types of accounts. Though, preferably,credits are made to a DDA. Also preferably, the electronic debits andelectronic credits from and to demand deposit accounts are made via theautomated clearinghouse bank network (ACH), though networks and otherelectronic means may be used to effect the debits and credits. Theprocessing agent 130 electronically effects the transfer of funds fromthe purchaser's financial institution to the seller's financialinstitution while shielding both the purchaser's and the seller'sfinancial institution and account information from one another andproviding the seller with payment trustworthiness. To utilize servicesoffered by the processing agent 130, a user must register to become amember of enclosed community 201. Once a user registers, the user neednot undergo the registration process again. Thus, once registered, auser can make payments to, or receive payments from, any otherregistered user.

[0112] The communications for, and steps of, the registration processare depicted in FIGS. 3-8. As described below, the registering user 205identifies a single DDA during the registration process, though it willbe understood that the registering user 205 may identify an accountother than a DDA. As shown in FIG. 3, registering user 205 contacts theprocessing agent 130 on-line via communication 301. The registering user205 transmits, via the Internet 100, at least information identifyingthe registering user 205, an account number of a demand deposit account(DDA) belonging to the registering user 205, and information identifyingthe financial institution at which the DDA is maintained, among otherinformation, as depicted at step 401 of FIG. 4. This information may besubmitted via an enrollment form transmitted to the registering user 205by the processing agent 130 via the Internet 100. The registrationinformation received by the processing agent 130 via the Internet 100,as shown in step 410. The processing agent 130 processes in real-time,that is, while the registering user 205 is on-line, the receivedinformation to register the registering user 205 and informs theregistering user 205, also in real-time, of the registration status ofthe registration process.

[0113] Optionally, processing agent 130 may accept more than one accountfrom which to electronically debit and/or to which to electronicallycredit. In such a case, registering user 205 submits informationidentifying one or more accounts and the associated financialinstitutions. It should be understood that in this scenario, whenever aregistered user has identified more than one account, the registereduser may identify the account from which funds are to be debited on aper transaction basis. Or, the registered user may identify a singleaccount from which all debits are to be made. When receiving funds, theregistered user may identify the account to which funds are to becredited on a per transaction basis. Or, the registered user mayidentify a single account to which all credits are to be made.Furthermore, a registered user may identify a single account from whichall debits are to be made, and a different single account to which allcredits are to be made.

[0114] The registering user 205 may be a member of another enclosedcommunity, such as an on-line auction site, financial institution site,Internet portal site, on-line electronic greeting card site, or merchantWeb site among others. Another director of an enclosed community canpresent to its members an option to become a member of enclosedcommunity 201. These directors are known as sponsors. If a member ofanother enclosed community chooses to become a registered user ofenclosed community 201 from an option presented by another enclosedcommunity, the sponsor can pre-populate an enrollment form with any datathat is already maintained by the other enclosed community and alsorequired to register with enclosed community 201. The registering user205 must complete the enrollment form and transmit it to processingagent 130. From this point forward, registration is the same asdescribed herein.

[0115] In another alternative, a sponsor may interact with theprocessing agent 130 to register a registering user. That is, thesponsor presents to the processing agent 130 any required information toregister the registering user.

[0116] Processing the information includes the processing agent 130validating, at step 415A, the information identifying the registeringuser 205 received by the processing agent 130, this can includevalidating the registering user's 205 address. The identity informationcan include a name, social security number, mailing address, city,state, phone numbers, zip code, date of birth, e-mail address, anddriver license number, among other information associated with theregistering user 205. If the processing agent 130 determines that theinformation identifying the registering user 205 is valid, processingcontinues as depicted in step 415B.

[0117] The identity validation process can include accessing one or moredatabases 305, via communication 310, in real-time containing identityinformation to determine if the received identity informationcorresponds with that in the database(s) 305. This processing may alsoinclude verifying that the identity information does not violate one ormore predetermined parameters identified by database(s) 305. As shown inFIG. 3, database(s) 305 is not stored in memory 1170. However, it willbe understood that database(s) 305 may be stored in memory 1170.

[0118] Processing the received information also includes the processingagent 130 validating, at step 415B, the received DDA number and theinformation identifying the associated financial institution. If theinformation identifying the DDA and the financial institution isvalidated, processing continues as depicted in step 415C.

[0119] As shown in step 415C, the processing agent 130 determines if theDDA can be electronically debited and/or credited. If the informationidentifying the registering user 205 and the information identifying theDDA and the financial institution is validated, and the DDA can beelectronically debited and/or credited, the registering user 205 isnotified in real-time, via communication 330, that the registering user205 has been accepted into the enclosed community 201, as depicted instep 430.

[0120] The DDA number/financial institution processing can includeaccessing, also in real-time, one or more databases 306, viacommunication 320, containing information associated with demand depositaccounts and financial institutions to validate the receivedDDA/financial institution information and to determine if the DDAassociated with the registering user 205 can be electronically debitedand/or credited. As shown in FIG. 3, database(s) 306 is not stored inmemory 1170. However, it will be understood that database(s) 305 may bestored in memory 1170.

[0121] The processing agent 130 generates and stores in memory 1170 aunique user identifier, and optionally password, associated with theregistering user 205, along with the received registration information,as depicted in step 420 and communication 315. Additionally, otherinformation identifying the registering user 205 may also be stored inmemory 1170. The unique user identifier identifies a user to theprocessing agent 130. For those registering users registering fromanother enclosed community, an indicator of the enclosed community fromwhich the registering user is registering is also stored. Optionally,the registering user 205 may select the user identifier and/or password.The unique user identifier, and password if applicable, are transmitted,preferably in real-time, to the newly registered user 205. This may beeither via communication 330, or in separate optional communication330A. If the unique user identifier, or unique user identifier andpassword, is/are not transmitted to a registering user in real-time,it/they may be sent to the registering user via e-mail or othercommunication. Generation and storage of the unique user identifier, orunique user identifier and password, step 420, may take place prior toany of steps 415A, 415B, or 415C, though as depicted in each of FIGS. 4through 7, it follows these steps.

[0122] Steps 440 and 450 depict optional processing, which includes theprocessing agent 130 generating and storing in memory 1170, viacommunication 416, a second identifier associated with the newlyregistered user 205. This second identifier is transmitted to the newlyregistered user via a non-real-time communication, depicted ascommunication 335A. That is, it is transmitted to the user either viae-mail, or traditional postal delivery. The second identifier can bethought of as a registration confirmation. As depicted in step 450, thenewly registered user 205 contacts the processing agent 130 afterreceipt of the second identifier and transmits the second identifier tothe processing agent 130, depicted as communication 335B. The secondidentifier is received by the processing agent 130. The processing agent130 then matches the received second identifier with that stored inmemory 1170, via communication 417, and confirms the newly registereduser's 205 registration. When the second user identifier is optionallyutilized, the newly registered user may direct debits from and/orcredits to the newly registered user's DDA. However, the processingagent 130 will not effect these transactions until the newly registereduser transmits to the processing agent 130 the second identifier. Thus,even with the optional processing in steps 440 and 450 executed, newlyregistered user 205 may immediately begin to utilize the services of theprocessing agent 130. If, after a predetermined period, the newlyregistered user 205 does not transmit to the processing agent 130 theoptional second identifier, the newly registered user's 205 registrationmay be revoked and any pending transactions may be cancelled.

[0123] If the processing agent 130 cannot validate the identityinformation, the registering user 205 is informed in real-time, viacommunication 340, that the processing agent 130 is unable to registerthe user, as depicted in step 460. The communication also informs theregistering user 205 that the registering user 205 should provide theprocessing agent 130, via traditional postal delivery, a voided checkdrawn on the user's DDA, along with the information identifying theregistering user 205 and the DDA and financial institution informationto process the registration in non-real-time. Additionally, theinformation requested from the registering user 205 may also includeadditional information identifying the registering user 205 not requiredfor the on-line registration process.

[0124] If the processing agent 130 cannot validate the DDA and financialinstitution information, the registering user 205 is informed inreal-time, via communication 350 that the DDA and financial institutioninformation cannot be validated, as depicted in step 470A. Theregistering user 205 is also prompted to reenter the DDA/financialinstitution information, as a possible reason for validation failure canbe improper entry of this information by the registering user 205. Ifthe registering user 205 reenters and retransmits the requiredDDA/financial institution information, as depicted in step 470B andcommunication 301A, the processing agent 130 receives the information,step 470C, and validates the newly received DDA/financial institutioninformation. If the registering user 205 does not resubmit thisinformation, or if the resubmitted information cannot be validated,registration fails.

[0125] If the processing agent 130 determines that the DDA is notelectronically creditable and/or debitable, the registering user 205 isinformed, at step 480 and via communication 360, that the registrationhas failed. The notification can optionally include a prompt for theregistering user to enter information identifying another account andthe associated financial institution. If registering user 205 transmitsinformation identifying another account, operations continue as depictedin step 470B. If not, registration fails.

[0126] FIGS. 5-8 depict optional registration operations. FIG. 5 showsthe steps of the registration process in a different order thandiscussed above. It should be understood that step 415A and, ifprocessing determines the necessity of, step 460 may follow step 415C,and precede step 420, as depicted in FIG. 5. The processing remains thesame as that depicted in FIG. 4, only the order has changed.Furthermore, though not shown, steps 415A and 415B may be executedessentially concurrently.

[0127] FIGS. 6-8 depict yet further registration options. As shown instep 610 of FIG. 6 and step 710 of FIG. 7, if the processing agent 130determines that the DDA cannot be electronically debited and/orcredited, at step 415C, the status of the DDA account as not beingelectronically debitable and/or creditable is stored in the memory 1170via communication 801, as depicted in FIG. 8. In the sequence ofprocessing depicted in FIG. 6, processing then continues with theoperations shown at step 420. In the sequence of processing depicted inFIG. 7, processing then continues with the operations shown at step415A. Thus registering user 205 may be accepted into the enclosedcommunity 201 even though the registering user's 205 DDA is notelectronically debitable and/or creditable.

[0128] The processing agent 130 makes further determinations relating tothe newly registered user 205. These determinations, though, may or maynot made in real-time. They may be concurrent with the above-describedprocessing, or they may follow. They can be made only once, or multipletimes. The determinations may be made each time a registered userdirects a financial transaction via processing agent 130, orperiodically as deemed necessary by the processing agent 130. Thesedeterminations concern credit risks the processing agent 130 will assumein providing the above-described payment service, and other services tobe described below.

[0129] In effecting the transfer of funds from a registered purchaser'sfinancial institution to a registered seller's financial institution,the processing agent 130 is the originator of these transactions and istherefore the recipient of, and responsible for, any returned debits orcredits. The processing agent 130 determines risk factors on aper-registered user basis. This determination can include evaluating thecredit history of the newly registered user 205, identification of DDAclosures, and retrieval of bad check history relating to the newlyregistered user 205.

[0130] The information received from registering user 205 to initiatethe registration process may also include a request to make a payment onbehalf of the registering user. In such a case, if the identityinformation and the account and financial institution information isverified, the processing agent 130 can immediately execute payments onbehalf of the user as described below. Thus, a registering user can notonly register in real-time, but also immediately direct payments.Furthermore, as registration is preferably performed real-time while aregistering user and the processing agent 130 participate in acommunications session, that user may direct a payment during thecommunications session subsequent to receiving registration confirmationwith or without transmitting or knowing his unique identifier. Also, auser may direct a payment without being registered, and withoutsubmitting registration information. In such a case, the processingagent 130 will inform the user that the user must register. The paymentrequest will be held until registration is completed. Upon registration,the request will be executed. Thus, the payment request may be receivedprevious to registration information. As will be described below,several types of transactions can be conducted by the processing agent130. A user can request that any of these transactions be initiatedwhile participating in an on-line communication session in which theuser registers, without the user transmitting and/or knowing his uniqueidentifier. This includes the user submitting the request prior tosubmitting registration information, submitting the request with theregistration information, or submitting the request subsequent toproviding the registration information.

[0131]FIGS. 12 and 13 show the communications for, and steps of, apurchase transaction between purchaser A 110A and seller A 120A effectedthrough processing agent 130. In should be understood that registeredpurchaser A 110A and registered seller A 120A are individuals, thoughone or both could be businesses or another type of organization. Itshould also be understood that the communications shown betweenpurchaser A 110A, seller A 120A, and the processing agent 130 arepreferably made via the Internet 100, though another network could beused. As depicted in communication 1201 and step 1301, purchaser A 110Aand seller A 120A, who are both registered members of the enclosedcommunity 201, negotiate the terms of a sale transaction. The processingagent 130 is not a party to the negotiations. Seller A 120A may presentgoods or services on a homepage belonging to seller A 120A, or seller A120A may post goods and services for sale on an electronic publicbulletin board, or advertise their availability either on the Internetor otherwise.

[0132] Purchaser A 110A contacts processing agent 130, as shown viacommunications 1205 and at step 1305, and transmits payment instructionsto the processing agent 130. The payment instructions include the amountof the payment and the unique user identifiers associated with seller A120A and purchaser A 110A and optionally the password associated withpurchaser A 110A. Optionally, payment information can include a futuredate upon which payment is to be made. Purchaser A 110A may contactprocessing agent 130 via a hyper-link included in a Web homepageassociated with seller A 120A, or included in an electronic publicbulletin board. Or, purchaser A 110A may contact processing agent 130directly via the Internet 100.

[0133] Irrespective of how processing agent 130 receives theinstruction, processing agent 130 processes the transmitted paymentinformation and stores a persistent indicator in memory 1170 that thetransaction is a sale transaction. This may be stored in a databasecontaining information relating to sale transactions. Processing Agent130 initiates a debit from, or initiates at a future date if sodirected, via communication 1210 and depicted at step 1316, the accountassociated with purchaser A 110A. The corresponding credit is directedto an account associated with processing agent 130. FIG. 12 shows theaccount associated with registered purchaser A 110A as being maintainedat financial institution 150A. And, as shown in FIG. 12, the accountassociated with processing agent 130 is maintained at financialinstitution 150D. As should be understood, the account, preferably aDDA, associated with processing agent 130 may be maintained at anyfinancial institution capable of electronic transfers.

[0134] To ameliorate the financial risk processing agent 130 is subjectto, a debit from processing agent 130 and corresponding credit to sellerA 120A may not be effected for a predetermined period of time after thedebit from the account associated with purchaser A 110A is initiated.FIG. 13 depicts operations when an debit is not returned uncollectedduring a predetermined period. When the predetermined period haselapsed, preferably three days, though it could be a shorter period or alonger period depending upon risk factors, and the debit has not beenreturned uncollected, the processing agent 130 initiates a debit from,via communication 1220 and at step 1320A, the account associated withthe processing agent 130. This debit results in a corresponding creditto the account associated with registered seller A 120A maintained atfinancial institution 150B.

[0135] Processing agent 130 informs registered seller A 120A that sellerA 120A has new funds available via communication 1208A and at step1320B. This preferably is done via e-mail. This notification can beexecuted once the debit to the purchaser's account has been initiated,or once funds have actually been obtained from the purchaser's account.

[0136] Optionally, the operations depicted in steps 1320A and 1320B canbe executed immediately after processing agent 130 receives acorresponding credit to the debit from the account associated withregistered purchaser A 110A, yet before the predetermined period haselapsed.

[0137] If the debit to registered purchaser A 110A is returneduncollected, registered purchaser A 110A may be prevented from directingany further payments for a period of time, or until the debit iscollected.

[0138] Any of registered sellers 120A-120N may be a merchant maintaininga Web site presenting goods or services for purchase. The operations toeffect a funds transfer to a merchant are essentially the same as thosedescribed above in relation to payments between individuals.

[0139] The merchant's Web site can include a hyper-link which connects acustomer to processing agent 130. Of course, if the customer is not aregistered user, the customer must register before any payments will beexecuted on his behalf by the processing agent 130. Selecting thehyper-link causes processing agent 130 to present a Web page to theregistered purchaser that contains data pertaining to the goods beingpurchased. The page contains the registered seller's name, uniqueidentifier, item description, payment amount, and optionally, a paymentdate. This information is captured from the merchant Web site. The Webpage also includes a hyper-link selectable by the registered purchaserto cause the transaction to be initiated. The registered purchaser mustsubmit his unique identifier, and optionally, password, before thetransaction can be processed. The Web page can include a field or fieldsfor entry of this information. Thereafter, operations continue asdepicted in steps 1305 -1320B in FIG. 13. If the purchaser is not aregistered user, the purchaser would have to register before thetransaction could be completed.

[0140] The sale transaction between a registered purchaser and aregistered seller may result from an Internet auction. Payment betweenthe winning bidder, who is the purchaser, and the seller can be effectedthrough the processing agent 130, as discussed above. As with theabove-described non-auction payment transaction, the parties to anauction payment transaction must be members of the enclosed community201.

[0141] Another service offered by the processing agent 130 is that ofthe processing agent 130 acting as an escrow agent. FIGS. 14-17C depictthe communications of, and steps for, the processing agent 130 to serveas an escrow agent between registered purchaser B 110B and registeredseller B 120B from a sale arising from an Internet auction, though thesale can arise otherwise. The processing (escrow) agent 130 maintainsfunds associated with the transaction in an account, shown in FIG. 14 asmaintained at financial institution 150D, until the associated productsare satisfactorily received and accepted by the registered purchaser B110B, or until the seller has satisfactorily performed some serviceobligation. This account will be referred to herein as an escrowaccount. The processing (escrow) agent 130 is the hub of a signalinginfrastructure supported by a database 1405 that maintains informationabout registered purchasers, registered sellers, and transactionsbetween one of the registered purchasers and registered sellers. Thus,the processing (escrow) agent 130 provides integrated event tracking forfunds and goods movement between registered sellers 120A-120N andregistered purchasers 110A-110N.

[0142] At step 1501, and via communication 1401A, a bid submitted byregistered purchaser B 110B is accepted. The purchaser B 110B and theseller B 120B need not communicate for this to happen. Any additionalterms of the sale may be negotiated between registered purchaser B 110Band registered seller B 120B, communication 1401B. The processing(escrow) agent 130 is not a party to these communications and this step.Registered purchaser B 110B submits a payment request to the processing(escrow) agent 130 with an indication that funds should be escrowed, asdepicted in communication 1408 and step 1508. Optionally, the seller maybe required to consent to participation in the escrow transaction.

[0143] The Internet auction site at which the sale transactionoriginated can present a hyper-link to registered purchaser B 110B whichconnects registered purchaser B 110B to processing (escrow) agent 130.Or, registered purchaser B 110B may directly access the processing(escrow) agent 130 to direct payment or payment and escrow services.Selecting the hyper-link causes processing agent 130 to present a Webpage to registered purchaser B 110B that contains data pertaining to thegoods or services being purchased. The page may contain the seller'sname, unique identifier, item or service description, payment amount,and payment date. This information is captured from the auction site.The Web page also includes a hyper-link to cause the transaction to beinitiated. Registered purchaser B 110B must provide his uniqueidentifier, and optionally, password, before the transaction can beprocessed. The Web page can include a field or fields for entry of thisinformation. It should be understood that this Web page is alsoavailable when the auction site sale transaction between registeredpurchaser B 110B and registered seller B 120B is not an escrowtransaction, but a sale transaction as described above, which resultsfrom a winning bid. Also, the Internet site can present to anunregistered user an option to become registered.

[0144] Processing (escrow) agent 130 stores the payment request in thedatabase 1405 with a persistent indicator for “funds escrow”, asdepicted in communication 1410 and step 1510. The payment request isassigned a payment identifier which is also stored. The initial state ofthe indicator is marked as “submitted”. This state triggers the nextstep.

[0145] Processing (escrow) agent 130 initiates a debit of funds from theaccount associated with registered purchaser B 110B, as depicted in step1512 and communication 1412. This may be at a future date agreed upon bythe parties to the transaction, including the on-line auction site. Thestate of the payment request stored in database 1405 is changed to“debit initiated,” as depicted in communication 1415 and step 1515.

[0146] Once the debit has cleared, that is, funds have been credited tothe escrow account, the state of the payment request stored in database1405 is changed to “debit approved,” as depicted in step 1518 andcommunication 1418. Optionally, the state of the payment request storedin database 1405 can be changed to “debit approved” after thepredetermined period discussed above in relation to a sale transactionhas lapsed. This state triggers the next step. Assuming the funds havecleared, or the period has lapsed, the processing (escrow) agent 130notifies registered seller B 120B, preferably via e-mail, that the fundshave been escrowed and that the seller should ship the goods, or providethe services, as depicted in step 1520 and communication 1420. Thisnotification may contain the same product or services data that wascaptured from the auction site, the payment identifier, and a packageidentifier. The state of the payment request stored in database 1405 ischanged to “seller notified to ship,” communication 1421 and step 1521.

[0147] Registered seller B 120B ships the goods, or provides theservices, to registered purchaser B 110B and optionally notifies theprocessing (escrow) agent 130 of the same. For shipment of goods,registered seller B 120B performs the optional notification by providingshipping information to the processing (escrow) agent 130, step 1523 andcommunication 1423. The shipping confirmation may include the identityof the shipping agent and the package identifier. The state of thepayment request stored in database 1405 is changed to“shipping/performance confirmation received,” communication 1425 andstep 1525.

[0148] The processing (escrow) agent 130 may optionally transmit anotification to registered purchaser B 110B, preferably via e-mail, thatthe goods have been shipped, or that the services have been or are beingperformed, step 1528 and communication 1428. The state of the paymentrequest stored in database 1405 in such a case is changed to “purchasernotified of shipment/performance,” step 1530 and communication 1430.

[0149] Upon satisfactory receipt of the goods, or acceptable performanceof the services, registered purchaser B 110B transmits notice ofacceptance of the goods or services to the processing (escrow) agent130, step 1533 and communication 1433. This may be via e-mail or othertype communication, including registered purchaser B 110B directlyaccessing the purchasing (escrow) agent via the Internet 100. The stateof the payment request stored in database 1405 is changed to “purchaseracceptance of goods/services received,” communication 1435 and step1535. This triggers the next step. If registered purchaser B 110B doesnot transmit notice of acceptance of the goods or services within apredetermined time after registered purchaser B 110B has been notifiedof shipment or performance, the state of the payment request may bechanged to “purchaser acceptance of goods/services received,” eventhough notification of acceptance has not been received, if optionalstep 1523 has been executed.

[0150] Processing (escrow) agent 130 initiates a debit of the funds fromthe escrow account at its own financial institution 150D, and acorresponding credit to registered seller B's account at financialinstitution 150E, step 1538 and communication 1438. The state of thepayment request stored in database 1405 is changed to “funds credited toseller, step 1540 and communication 1440. This triggers the next step.

[0151] The purchasing (escrow) agent 130 notifies seller B 110B viae-mail that payment on behalf of the purchaser B 110B has been depositedin the seller's account, step 1543 and communication 1443. The state ofthe payment request stored in database 1405 is changed to “sellernotified of funds crediting,” step 1545 and communication 1445.

[0152]FIGS. 16 and 17A-C depict the communications and steps which occurwhen registered purchaser B 110B is not satisfied with the goods orservices. After registered purchaser B 110B has been notified ofshipment or performance, if registered purchaser B 110B receives thegoods and is not satisfied, has not received them, is not satisfied withthe services, or has not received the services, registered purchaser B110B may choose to initiate communication with the seller about theproblem, as depicted in communication 1601 and step 1701. Processing(escrow) agent 130 is not a party to this optional communication.Registered purchaser B 110B notifies the processing (escrow) agent 130to place the transaction in a “hold” status pending resolution, step1705 and communication 1605. This may be via e-mail or othercommunication, including by direct communication with the processing(escrow) agent 130 via the Internet 100. The state of the paymentrequest stored in database 1405 is changed to “purchaser hold oftransaction received,” step 1708 and communication 1608. If the disputeis resolved between registered purchaser B 110B and registered seller B120B, purchaser B 110B notifies processing agent 130 of the resolutionand the hold is removed. Operations continue with step 1533 of FIG. 15B.

[0153]FIG. 17B and 17C depict operations if the dispute is not resolved.Registered purchaser B 110B notifies the processing (escrow) agent 130that the debit to the purchaser account should be reversed,communication 1610 and step 1710. This, as above, may be via e-mail orother communication, including by direct Internet 100 connection withthe processing (escrow) agent 130. The state of the payment requeststored in database 1405 is changed to “purchaser rejection oftransaction received,” step 1713 and communication 1613. For the sale ofgoods, registered purchaser B 110B returns the merchandise to registeredseller B 120B and confirms shipping by providing shipping information tothe processing (escrow) agent 130, step 1715, communication 1615. Thestate of the payment request stored in database 1405 is changed to“return shipping confirmation received,” step 1718 and communication1618. This triggers the next step. It should be understood thatregistered purchaser B 110B need not first place a hold on thetransaction, registered purchaser B may direct a reversal of thetransaction without directing the above-described hold.

[0154] The processing (escrow) agent 130 optionally notifies registeredseller B 120B via e-mail that the goods have been shipped, communication1620 and step 1720. The state of the payment request stored in database1405 is changed to “seller notified of return shipment,” step 1723 andcommunication 1623. Upon satisfactory receipt of the returned goods,registered seller B 120B notifies processing (escrow) agent 130 ofacceptance of the goods, communications 1625 and step 1725. This may toobe via e-mail or other type communication. The state of the paymentrequest stored in database 1405 may be changed to “seller acceptance ofreturn shipment received,” communication 1628 and step 1728. Ifregistered seller B 120B does not notify processing (escrow) agent 130of acceptance of the returned goods within a predetermined time, thestate of the payment request may be changed to “seller acceptance ofreturn shipment received.”

[0155] Processing (escrow) agent 130 initiates a debit of funds from theescrow account and a corresponding credit to registered purchaser A'saccount, step 1730 and communication 1630. The state of the paymentrequest stored in database 1405 is changed to “funds reversed topurchaser,” step 1733 and communication 1633. This funds reversal,however, may not be to the same account associated with the registeredpurchaser from which the funds were originally debited. The purchasing(escrow) agent 130 notifies registered purchaser B 110B, preferably viae-mail, that appropriate reversal of payment has been deposited in theaccount associated with registered purchaser B 110B, communication 1635and step 1735. The state of the payment request stored in database 1405is changed to “purchaser notified of funds reversal,” step 1738 andcommunication 1638.

[0156] The above-described escrow transaction may be performed somewhatdifferently. Alternate operations will be referred to aspayment-on-delivery transactions. In such transactions, a shipping agenttakes on a more active role by providing tracking of the movement ofgoods to either of, or both of, the processing (escrow) agent 130 andregistered seller B B120. In payment-on-delivery transactions, anassociation between the payment identifier and the package identifier,both introduced above, is established and is utilized by the processing(escrow) agent 130 in determining when to release funds. The associationmay be established by a shipping agent, by a seller, or by theprocessing (escrow) agent 130.

[0157] In a first alternative, the shipping agent initiates theassociation of the payment identifier and the package identifier andnotifies the processing (escrow) agent 130 of the same. FIG. 20 depictscommunications among the registered seller B 120B, registered purchaserB 110B, processing (escrow) agent 130, and a shipping agent 2000. Thecommunications and processing to effect a payment-on-deliverytransaction in this first alternative is the same as described above anddepicted in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 through step 1518. Thereafter, some ofthe aforementioned optional operations become mandatory and additionaloperations are introduced, as described below and depicted in FIG. 21,beginning at step 2101.

[0158] In step 1520, described above, the processing (escrow) agent 130informs the registered seller B 120B of the payment identifier, andoptionally the package identifier. If, at step 1520, the processing(escrow) agent 130 does not provide the registered seller B 120B withthe package identifier, either the registered seller B 120B or theshipping agent 2000 can generate the package identifier. At step 2101,the seller provides the shipping agent 2000 with the goods, the identityof the processing (escrow) agent 130, the payment identifier, andoptionally the package identifier if the shipping agent 2000 has notgenerated the package identifier. The identity and identifiers, showntransmitted via communication 2001, may be provided previous to,subsequent to, or concurrent with, the shipping agent 2000 actuallytaking possession of the goods for shipment. The communications betweenthe registered seller B 120B and the shipping agent 2000 may be madeorally, by hardcopy, or electronically, including on-linecommunications.

[0159] The shipping agent 2000 generates the package identifier, ifnecessary, and creates an association between the processing (escrow)agent 130, the payment identifier, and the package identifier, step2105. The association links this information together in a database.Preferably, the shipping agent 2000 utilizes the package identifier as adelivery or tracking number. The association may be made concurrent withreceipt of the information in step 2101, such as via an on-linecommunication while interacting with the registered seller B 120B, orsubsequently, such as via an electronic file batch processing.

[0160] The shipping agent 2000 may optionally provide the registeredseller B 120B with a receipt, which may include one of or both of thepayment identifier and the package identifier, step 2110 andcommunication 2010.

[0161] Also optionally, the shipping agent 2000 may transmit theassociation between the payment identifier and the package identifier tothe processing (escrow) agent 130, step 2115 and communication 2015.This may be an automatic transmission requiring no human involvement,such as via an electronic batch file or Application Program Interface(API), which is an in-session (real-time) interface between the shippingagent 2000 and the processing (escrow) agent 130. Or, the transmissionmay involve human intervention by the shipping agent 2000. This caninclude making the transmission via an on-line user interface orotherwise. In such a case, the processing (escrow) agent stores thisinformation in database 1405, and the state of the payment request ischanged to “shipping confirmation received,” step 2119 and communication2019.

[0162] Also optionally, the processing (escrow) agent 130 may inform theregistered purchaser B 110B that shipping has been initiated, step 2120,if step 2119 is executed. In such a case, the state of the paymentrequest in database 1405 is changed to “purchaser notified of shipment,”step 2121 and communication 2021.

[0163] As will be understood by one skilled in the art, the shippingagent 2000 can electronically track the movement of the package from themoment of acceptance from the registered seller B 120B to the moment ofdelivery to the registered purchaser B 110B. Thus, at all times theshipping agent 2000 can know the location of the package. When theregistered purchaser B 110B takes possession of the package, theshipping agent 2000 enters a notation of this into the tracking systemmaintained by the shipping agent 2000. This can be done wherever theactual transfer of possession occurs via the use of handheld dataterminals or other devices. In a first notification scenario, known as a‘push’, upon delivery of the package to the registered purchaser B 110B,the shipping agent 2000 transmits the association between the paymentidentifier and the package identifier, as well as an indication that thepackage has been delivered, to the processing (escrow) agent 130, step2125 and communication 2025. As in the above-described optionaltransmission depicted in step 2115, this may be an automatictransmission requiring no human involvement, such as via an electronicbatch file or Application Program Interface (API), which is anin-session (real-time) interface between the shipping agent 2000 and theprocessing (escrow) agent 130. Or, the transmission may involve humanintervention by the shipping agent 2000. This can include making thetransmission via an on-line user interface or otherwise. If optionalstep 2115 has been executed, the shipping agent 2000 need only transmitthe delivery results. After the package has been delivered, and theprocessing (escrow) agent 130 has knowledge of the delivery, operationscontinue as described above and depicted in FIG. 15, step 1538.

[0164] In a second notification scenario, known as a ‘pull’, andavailable if optional step 2115 has been executed, the processing(escrow) agent 130 retrieves delivery results from the shipping agent2000. This too may either be automatic, whereby the processing (escrow)agent 130 utilizes an on-line API provided by the shipping agent 2000,or retrieves delivery results via a batch pull of delivery confirmationfiles from the shipping agent 2000. Or, the retrieval of deliveryresults may involve human intervention, such that a representative ofthe processing (escrow) agent 130 accesses an on-line system of theshipping agent 2000, then updates information maintained by theprocessing (escrow) agent 130 either in batch or on-line mode.Preferably, data is pulled periodically from the shipping agent 2000. Ifthe results of the pull is that the package has been delivered,operations continue with step 1538 of FIG. 15.

[0165] In a second alternative, whose communications and steps aredepicted in FIGS. 22 and 23, the seller initiates the association of thepayment identifier and the package identifier and notifies theprocessing (escrow) agent 130 of the same. In this second alternative,delivery results may directly flow between the shipping agent 2000 andthe processing (escrow) agent 130, or they may flow through theregistered seller B 120B. The processing to effect a payment-on-deliverytransaction in this second alternative is the same as described aboveand depicted in FIG. 15 through step 1518. Thereafter, some of theaforementioned optional operations become mandatory and additionaloperations are introduced, as described below.

[0166] In step 1520, the processing (escrow) agent 130 informs theregistered seller B 120B of the payment identifier and not the packageidentifier. In this second alternative, either the registered seller B120B or the shipping agent 2000 can generate the package identifier. Atstep 2301, the registered seller B 120B provides the goods to theshipping agent 2000, and if necessary, also provides the packageidentifier. If not, the shipping agent 2000 generates the packageidentifier and notifies the registered seller B 120B of the packageidentifier. Communications between the registered seller B 120B and theshipping agent 200 are depicted via communication 2201.

[0167] The shipping agent 2000 may optionally provide the registeredseller B 120B with a receipt, which may include one of or both of thepayment identifier and the package identifier, step 2310.

[0168] The registered seller B 120B creates the association between thepayment identifier and the package identifier, step 2315, and informsthe processing (escrow) agent 130 of the identity of the shipping agent2000 and the association between the payment identifier and the packageidentifier, step 2316 and communication 2216. This may be an automatictransmission requiring no human involvement, such as via an electronicbatch file or Application Program Interface (API), which is anin-session (real-time) interface between the shipping agent 2000 and theprocessing (escrow) agent 130. Or, the transmission may involve humanintervention by the shipping agent 2000. This can include making thetransmission via an on-line user interface or otherwise. Optionally, thestate of the payment request is changed to “shipping confirmationreceived,” step 2317 and communication 2217.

[0169] Optionally, the processing (escrow) agent 130 may inform theregistered purchaser B 110B that shipping has been initiated, step 2320and communication 2220. In such a case, the state of the payment requestin database 1405 is changed to “purchaser notified of shipment,” step2321 and communication 2221.

[0170] Also optionally, the processing (escrow) agent 130 may inform theshipping agent 2000, or the shipping agent 2000 and the registeredseller B 120B, of a desire to directly obtain delivery results from theshipping agent 2000, step 2325 and communication 2225.

[0171] As in the first alternative, delivery results can either bepushed from the shipping agent 2000 or pulled from the shipping agent2000. Furthermore, as the delivery results may flow directly between theshipping agent 2000 and the processing (escrow) agent 130, or throughthe registered seller B 120B, the delivery results may be pushed and/orpulled in multiple combinations of communications. The delivery resultsmay be pushed directly to the processing (escrow) agent from theshipping agent 2000, or may be pushed to the registered seller B 120Bfrom the shipping agent 2000. If pushed to the registered seller B 120B,they may then be pushed to the processing (escrow) agent 130, or theymay then be pulled from the registered seller B 120 by the processingagent 130. The delivery results may be pulled directly from the shippingagent 2000 to the processing (escrow) agent 130, or may be pulled fromthe shipping agent 2000 by the registered seller B 120. If pulled to theregistered seller B 120, they may then be pushed to the processing(escrow) agent 130 by the registered seller B 120B, or they may then bepulled from the registered seller B 120 by the processing agent 130.

[0172] When the delivery results are pushed by the shipping agent 2000,and the processing (escrow) agent 130 has not requested to directlyobtain delivery results, upon delivery of the package to the registeredpurchaser B 110B, the shipping agent 2000 transmits an indication thatthe package has been delivered to the registered seller B 120B, step2330 and communication 2230A. If the processing (escrow) agent 130 hasrequested to directly obtain delivery results, the shipping agent 2000,transmits the indication that the package has been delivered to theprocessing (escrow) agent 130, communication 2230B, not the registeredseller B 120B. As in the above-described transmissions, these may beautomatic transmissions requiring no human involvement, such as via anelectronic batch file or Application Program Interface (API), which isan in-session (real-time) interface between two or more parties. Or, thetransmissions may involve human intervention by the shipping agent 2000.This can include making the transmissions via an on-line user interfaceor otherwise.

[0173] When the delivery results are to be pulled from the shippingagent 2000 and the processing (escrow) agent 130 desires to directlyobtain the delivery results, preferably the processing (escrow) agent130 has informed the registered seller B 120B of this desire. In thedirect pull scenario, the processing (escrow) agent 130 directly pullsdelivery results from the shipping agent 2000, as discussed above, viacommunication 2230B. In a pull scenario in which the delivery resultsare pulled to the registered seller B 120B, the transmission is made viacommunication 2230A.

[0174] If the delivery results have been made known to the registeredseller B 120B, either by pushing or pulling, in step 2335 andcommunication 2235, they are then made known to the processing (escrow)agent 130. This may either be a pushing from the registered seller B120B to the processing (escrow) agent 130, or a pulling from theregistered seller B 120B by the processing (escrow) agent 130. Once theprocessing (escrow) agent 130 obtains the delivery results, no matter ifby pulling or pushing, or if directly or through the registered seller B120B, and if the delivery results are that the package has beendelivered, operations continue as described above and depicted in FIG.15, step 1538.

[0175] In a third alternative, shown in FIGS. 24 and 25,payment-on-delivery transaction, the processing (escrow) agent 130 makesthe association of the payment identifier and the package identifier andthus need not be informed thereof by either the seller or the shippingagent 2000. Preferably, the association is made prior to step 1520. Atstep 1520 of FIG. 15, the processing (escrow) agent 130 informs theregistered seller B 120B of the payment identifier and the packageidentifier. Registered seller B 120B provides the goods to the shippingagent 2000 and provides the shipping agent 2000 with the packageidentifier, step 2501. The package identifier is communicated viacommunication 2401. This may be either in person, including both an oralcommunication or via hardcopy, or in an electronic file format.

[0176] The processing (escrow) agent 130, as in the second alternative,may optionally inform the shipping agent 2000 of a desire to receivedelivery results, step 2505 and communication 2405. This may be priorto, concurrent with, or subsequent to, the registered seller providingthe goods and information to the shipping agent 2000. This may be donevia any of the above described communication methods.

[0177] The shipping agent 2000 may optionally provide the registeredseller B 120B with a receipt, which may include the package identifier,step 2510.

[0178] As discussed in the second alternative, delivery results caneither be pushed from or pulled from the shipping agent 2000. Also asdiscussed in the second alternative, delivery results may flow directlybetween the processing (escrow) agent 130 and the shipping agent 2000,or they may flow through the registered seller B 120B.

[0179] At step 2515, the delivery results are either pulled from orpushed from the shipping agent 2000. This may be to the processing(escrow) agent 130, or to the registered seller B 120B. If to processing(escrow) agent 130, the results are communicated via communication2415B, and if to the registered seller B 120B, the results arecommunicated via communication 2415B.

[0180] As in the above-described transmissions, these may be automatictransmissions requiring no human involvement, such as via an electronicbatch file or Application Program Interface (API), which is anin-session (real-time) interface between two or more parties. Or, thetransmissions may involve human intervention by the shipping agent 2000.This can include making the transmissions via an on-line user interfaceor otherwise.

[0181] If the results flow through the registered seller B 120B, at step2520 and via communication 2420, the delivery results then flow to theprocessing (escrow) agent 130. Also as in the second alternativepayment-on-delivery transaction, the delivery results may be pushed tothe processing (escrow) agent 130 by the registered seller B 120B, orthey may be pulled from the registered seller B 120B by the processing(escrow) agent 130. When the package has been delivered, and theprocessing (escrow) agent 130 has knowledge of the delivery, operationscontinue as described above and depicted in FIG. 15, step 1538.

[0182] In each of the three payment-on-delivery alternatives, if eitherthe processing (escrow) agent 130 or the seller provides the packageidentifier to the shipping agent 2000, a shipping label to be affixed tothe goods which includes the package identifier and indicates postage orother shipping costs may also be generated by either the processing(escrow) agent 130 or the registered seller B 120B. The label may begenerated by the registered seller B 120B if either the processing(escrow) agent 130 or the registered seller B 120B generates the packageidentifier. Or, the processing (escrow) agent 130 may generate the labeland deliver it to either the registered seller B 120B or the shippingagent 2000 if the processing (escrow) agent 130 generates the packageidentifier. If the label is not generated by the shipping agent 2000,the processing (escrow) agent 130 will settle with the shipping agent2000 for shipping costs. The processing (escrow) agent may or may notpass these costs on to the seller and/or purchaser.

[0183] If the processing (escrow) agent 130 generates the label, thismay be a physical generation whereby the processing (escrow) agent 130causes the label to be printed and physically delivered to the shippingagent 2000 or the seller. Or, the processing (escrow) agent 130 mayvirtually generate the shipping label and electronically deliver it tothe seller or shipping agent 2000 for physical generation, i.e.,printing.

[0184] Also, in each of the payment-on-delivery alternatives, theprocessing (escrow) agent 130 may also require, in addition to obtainingnotification of delivery results generated by the shipping agent 2000,that the registered purchaser B 110B transmit a notice of acceptance ofthe goods to the processing (escrow) agent 130. In such a case, thecredit to the seller account may not be initiated until this notice isreceived. And, as discussed above, after receiving delivery resultsgenerated by the shipping agent 2000, the processing (escrow) agent 130may initiate a credit to the seller account after a predetermined periodhas elapsed, beginning upon obtaining the delivery results even if thenotice from the registered purchaser B 110B has not been received. Inthis dual notice scenario, if the processing (escrow) agent 130 obtainsa notice of delivery of the goods, but the notice of acceptance from thepurchaser indicates that the goods are not satisfactory, the operations,described above, in returning the goods to the seller and crediting thepurchaser account are executed, as depicted beginning at step 1710 ofFIG. 17. It should also be understood, that the shipping agent 2000 mayplay an active role in funds movement in the return of unsatisfactorygoods. In such a case, the above described notification of deliveryresults between various ones of the registered seller B 120B, shippingagent 2000, and processing (escrow) agent 130 are repeated, only withthe registered purchaser B 110B acting in place of the registered sellerB 120B.

[0185] The delivery results, no matter if pushed or pulled to theprocessing (escrow) agent 130, may be that the package was notdelivered. This may be due to several reasons. For instance, theshipping agent 2000 may not be able to locate the registered purchaser B110B, or the registered purchaser B 110B may refuse to take possessionof the package. In such a case, the shipping agent 2000 returns thepackage to the registered seller B 120B. Upon receiving delivery resultsindicating a non-delivered package, a credit is initiated to the accountassociated with registered purchaser B 110B, as depicted in step 1730 ofFIG. 17. Or, the credit to the registered purchaser B 110B account maybe made upon the package being delivered to the registered seller B120B.

[0186] The above described operations are also applicable in thosesituations where more than one shipping agent handles the goods. Forexample, a first shipping agent may receive the goods from the sellerand perform the operations described above in any of the threealternatives up to actual delivery of the goods to the registeredpurchaser. Instead, delivery is made to a second shipping agent. Thefirst shipping agent then receives confirmation of acceptance ornon-acceptance by the registered purchaser of the goods by the secondshipping agent. Thereinafter, operations continue with thenotification(s) of acceptance described in the three alternativepayment-on-delivery transactions.

[0187] As described above, the registered purchaser B 110B may notaccept delivery of the package. The registered purchaser B 110B mayaccept delivery of the package and, in the presence of the shippingagent, inspect the goods contained therein. If the purchaser should notaccept the goods, the shipping agent notifies the appropriate ones ofthe processing (escrow) agent 130 and/or registered seller B 120B of thenon-acceptance, step 2125 of FIG. 21, step 2335 of FIG. 23, or step 2520of FIG. 25. It should be understood that possession of the goods is nottransferred to the registered purchaser B 110B, rather, the shippingagent 2000 returns the goods to the registered seller B 120B. Upondelivery of the goods back to the registered seller B 120B, the shippingagent 2000 transmits a notice to the processing agent that the goodshave been returned to the seller. Or, the seller may transmit thisnotice to the processing (escrow) agent 130. Once the processing agentreceives this notice, operations continue as described above anddepicted in step 1728 of FIG. 17C.

[0188] A registered seller may also be a shipping agent. In such asituation, the shipping agent/registered seller may generate the paymentidentifier and the package identifier. The seller/shipping agent maytransmit a payment collections file to the processing (escrow) agent130. Thereinafter, the processing (escrow) agent 130 initiates theinitial debit from the registered purchaser's account. After theprocessing (escrow) agent has collected funds from the purchaser, theprocessing (escrow) agent 130 may transmit an electronic remittance fileto the shipping agent/registered seller.

[0189] While escrow and payment-on-delivery transactions have beendetailed in relation to on-line auction transactions, it should beunderstood that processing agent 130 also may provide escrow andpayment-on-delivery services for sale transactions between anyregistered users which arise from a non-auction sale.

[0190] In escrow and payment-on-delivery transactions, the finalmovement of funds, whether it be to the seller or back to the purchaser,are dependent upon a triggering event. This triggering event may be areceipt of a single notice from the purchaser, a receipt of a singlenotice from the seller, or a receipt of a single notice from theshipping agent. The triggering event may be a combination of a receiptof notices from both the shipping agent and purchaser, from both theseller and the purchaser, or from both the shipping agent and theseller. Also, the triggering event may be the elapsing of a time period.Thus, the processing (escrow) agent 130 can move funds obtained from apurchaser upon more than one triggering event, or set of triggeringevents.

[0191] This ability to move funds based upon a triggering event is notlimited to escrow/payment-on-delivery transactions. The processing agent130 can move funds associated with other types of transactions also uponthe occurrence of triggering events. This ability rests in part on theprocessing agent 130 storing information associated with each actiontaken to complete each transaction it processes. The processing agent130 operates under one or more set parameters of ordering rules,dependent upon the type of transaction being executed. Each stepperformed by the processing agent 130 to execute a given transactiontype is dictated by one or more prior events, whether performed by theprocessing agent 130 or another entity.

[0192] A registered user who also issues bills can utilize yet anotherservice of the processing agent 130. For those registered users who arepresented bills by another registered user, the billing registered usercan electronically present bills to these registered users through theprocessing agent 130. The registered user submits electronic bills toprocessing agent 130 and processing agent 130 forwards those bills viae-mail, or forwards notice of bill availability on a Web page maintainedby processing agent 130, to the appropriate registered users. Thus, aregistered user can electronically receive a bill from anotherregistered user, and in turn can pay the registered user via theservices of the processing agent 130, as described above. Processingagent 130 can also provide remittance information to a registered userbeing paid from an electronic bill. This information is captured from anelectronically presented bill when a registered user directs that billto be paid to another registered user.

[0193] For those registered users who are receiving payment from severalregistered users, processing agent 130 optionally combines the severalpayments into a single consolidated payment for credit to the registereduser's account.

[0194] Likewise, a registered user who also receives bills from anotherregistered user can electronically pay those bills using the services ofthe processing agent 130. Operations to pay a bill to another registereduser is essentially the same as making a purchase payment to anotherregistered user. A registered user paying a bill contacts processingagent 130, as in step 1305, FIG. 13, and transmits payment instructionsto the processing agent 130. In this case, the payment instructionsinclude an indication that the payment is for a bill issued by theregistered user, including the paying registered user's accountinformation with the billing registered user.

[0195] Processing agent 130 processes the transmitted paymentinformation and stores a persistent indicator in memory 1170 that thetransaction is a bill payment transaction. This may be stored in adatabase containing information relating to bill payment transactions.Processing continues as depicted in step 1316, FIG. 13.

[0196] As in step 1320B, processing agent 130 informs the registeredbilling user that the registered billing user has new funds available.This notification includes the name of the registered user paying thebill, and that registered user's account information with the registeredbilling user being paid. It should be understood that a registered usercan pay a bill of another registered user even though that bill has notbeen electronically presented, as described above.

[0197] Another service of the processing agent 130 is electronic giftpayments. A gift payment is an electronic monetary transfer between tworegistered users unrelated to a sale transaction. The recipient need notbe registered for a registered donor to direct an electronic giftpayment to the recipient. But, for the recipient to obtain the fundsassociated with the electronic gift payment, the recipient must registerwith processing agent 130 and become a member of the enclosed community201. The recipient can use the gift funds in any manner the recipientdesires.

[0198]FIGS. 18A, 18B, 19A, 19B, and 19C depict the communications andsteps for the processing agent 130 to effect an electronic gift payment.The processing agent 130 is the hub of a signaling infrastructuresupported by a database 1805 stored in memory 1170 that maintainsinformation about registered donors, recipients, and transactionsbetween ones of the donors and recipients.

[0199] At optional step 1901A, and via communication 1801A, theregistered donor 1800A notifies the intended recipient of the gift. Thisis preferably via e-mail. Registered donor 1800A submits a gift paymentrequest to the processing agent 130, depicted as step 1901B andcommunication 1801B. This may be via e-mail or other type communication,including via an on-line communication session. The gift payment requestincludes, at a minimum, the donor's unique identifier, optionally,password if required, the recipient's unique identifier, or e-mailaddress if the donor does not know the recipient's unique identifier ordoes not know if the recipient is a member of the enclosed community,and payment amount. The request can include other information, such asthe recipient's name and other identifying information, a future paymentdate, and text the donor may wish to convey to the recipient. If therequest is made via an on-line communication session, the request maynot include the donor's unique identifier if the donor has previouslysupplied this during the on-line communication session. Processing Agent130 stores the gift payment request in database 1805 with an appropriatepersistent indicator for “gift payment,” communication 1806 and step1906. Processing agent 130 determines if the recipient is a registeredmember of the enclosed community 201, step 1910. If, as shown in FIG.18A, the recipient is registered, at step 1920A and via communication1820A the initial state of the stored gift payment request is marked“submitted for enrolled recipient.” This triggers the next step.

[0200] The processing agent 130 initiates a debit of funds from theaccount associated with the registered donor 1800A maintained atfinancial institution 150G, step 1925 and communication 1825. The stateof the gift payment request stored in database 1805 is changed to “debitinitiated,” step 1930 and communication 1830.

[0201] Once the corresponding credit has been made to the processingagent's 130 account, the state of the payment request stored in database1805 is changed to “debit approved,” communication 1835 and step 1935.This state triggers the next step.

[0202] Processing agent 130 may automatically initiate a debit of fundsfrom its own account, shown here as at financial institution 150D, butit could be any financial institution, step 1940 and communication 1840,and a corresponding credit to the registered recipient's account priorto notifying the recipient of the gift payment. In such a case, thestate of the payment request stored in database 1805 is changed to“funds credited to recipient,” communication 1845 and step 1945. Thistriggers the next step.

[0203] Processing agent 130 notifies the registered recipient 1800B viae-mail that gift funds have been deposited into the recipient's account,step 1950 and communication 1850, preferably via e-mail. The notice caninclude the donor's name, e-mail address, and any donor specified text.The state of the gift payment request stored in database 1805 is changedto “recipient notified of funds crediting,” communication 1855 and step1955.

[0204] The gift payment may not automatically be credited to theregistered recipient's account. In such a case, the notification to therecipient may include a hyper-link, which when followed, presents a webpage created by the processing agent 130 to the recipient through whichthe registered recipient 1800B must provide his unique identifier. Thisinitiates the credit to the recipient's account. Accordingly, the stateof the gift payment request is changed to “recipient notified of fundsavailability” when the notice is sent. And, then it is changed to “fundscredited to recipient” after the hyper-link is followed, the registeredrecipient 1800B provides his unique identifier, and the credit to therecipient's account is initiated.

[0205] If the operations of step 1910 determine that the recipient isunregistered, the operations and communications depicted in FIGS. 19Cand 18B are executed. Following step 1910 of FIG. 19A, the initial stateof the stored gift payment request is marked as “submitted fornon-enrolled recipient,” step 1920B and communication 1820B. Thistriggers the next step.

[0206] A notice is delivered to the non-enrolled recipient 1800C,preferably via e-mail, that an electronic gift payment is available andthat the non-enrolled recipient must become a registered member of theenclosed community 201 to receive the gift payment, communication 1860and step 1960. This communication preferably includes at least the nameand e-mail address of the registered donor. It may also include theamount of the electronic gift payment and any donor specified text.

[0207] A pending debit transaction is created against the donor'saccount and stored in database 1805, step 1961 and communication 1880.This includes the registered donor's name, unique user identifier, giftpayment amount, and date gift payment transaction initiated by theregistered donor.

[0208] If the non-enrolled recipient chooses to enroll, theabove-described registration procedures are followed to registernon-enrolled recipient 1800C, step 1965. Preferably, enrollment isinitiated via a hyper-link, or based upon a token contained in, ane-mail sent in communication 1860.

[0209] Once the recipient is registered, the state of the gift paymentrequest is changed to “submitted for enrolled recipient,” step 1970 andcommunication 1870. Processing continues as depicted in step 1925 ofFIG. 19A.

[0210] Alternatively, the donor's account may be debited prior tocommunication 1860 being sent to the recipient. In such a case, as soonas funds are credited to the processing agent's 130 account and therecipient has enrolled, the recipient's account is credited.

[0211] If, after a predetermined period, the non-enrolled recipient doesnot enroll, the gift payment will expire. Processing agent 130 notifiesthe registered donor via e-mail that the recipient has not enrolled andthat the transaction is cancelled. If the donor's account has beendebited, a credit to the donor's account from the processing agent's 130account will be initiated.

[0212] Another service offered by the processing agent 130 is electronicgift certificates. This service is similar to electronic gift payments.However, instead of donating cash, a registered donor can donate a giftcertificate. The electronic gift certificate is redeemable via apurchase or purchases made from one or more registered sellers. Or, theelectronic gift certificate may be redeemable for free merchandise fromone or more registered sellers. The electronic gift certificate may onlybe redeemable with purchases made from the donor. Or, for freemerchandise only from the donor. As in electronic gift payments, therecipient must be a registered member of the enclosed community toredeem the certificate, but not to receive the certificate.

[0213] FIGS. 26-29 depict the communications and steps for theprocessing agent 130 to effect a donation of an electronic giftcertificate. At optional step 2701A, and via communication 2601A, theregistered donor 2600A may notify the intended recipient of the gift.This is preferably via e-mail. A gift certificate request is sent by thedonor to the processing agent 130, depicted as step 2701B andcommunication 2601B. This can be via e-mail or other type communication,including via an on-line communication session. The gift certificaterequest includes at least the same information required to make a giftpayment request. Processing agent 130 stores the gift certificaterequest in database 2605 with an appropriate persistent indicator for“gift certificate,” communication 2606 and step 2706. Processing agent130 determines if the recipient is a registered member of the enclosedcommunity 201, step 2710. If, as shown in FIG. 26, the recipient isregistered, at step 2720A and via communication 2620A, the initial stateof the stored gift certificate request is marked as “submitted forenrolled recipient.” This triggers the next step.

[0214] The processing agent 130 may initiate a debit of funds from theaccount associated with the registered donor 2600A maintained atfinancial institution 150G, step 2725 and communication 2625. The stateof the gift payment request stored in database 2605 is changed to “debitinitiated,” step 2730 and communication 2630.

[0215] Once the corresponding credit has been made to the processingagent's 130 account, the state of the gift certificate request stored indatabase 2605 is changed to “debit approved,” communication 2635 andstep 2735. This state triggers the next step.

[0216] Alternatively, the processing agent 130 may not initiate a debitof funds from the account associated with the registered donor 2600A. Insuch a case, an indication is stored in the database 2605 of the amountof the electronic gift certificate. In this case, operations continuewith step 2755.

[0217] Processing agent 130 notifies the registered recipient 2600B,preferably via e-mail, that the electronic gift certificate isavailable. The state of the payment request is changed to “recipientnotified of electronic gift certificate availability,” communication2655 and step 2755. The notification may include a hyper-link, asdiscussed above in notification of an electronic gift payment, that theuser must follow and thereby identify himself to the processing agent130.

[0218] The processing to effect payment to a registered seller from theregistered purchaser using an electronic gift certificate is the same asthe above-discussed purchase transaction, only with the purchase priceoffset by the amount of the electronic gift certificate, if theregistered donor's account has been debited. If the donor's account hasnot been debited, the electronic gift certificate will only be usable tooffset a purchase price of a purchase made from the registered donor.

[0219] Database 2605 may store information including the identity of theregistered seller or sellers which will accept the gift certificate aspayment, the amount of funds available from the gift certificate,including decrementing this amount as the gift certificate is used, anyexpiration date of the gift certificate, and optionally a threshold atwhich remaining funds are released as a cash gift payment to therecipient of the gift certificate.

[0220] In yet another alternative, the registered donor may be theprocessing agent 130. In such a case, funds in the amount of theelectronic gift certificate will not be debited from the accountassociated with the processing agent 130, as in step 2725 above.Whenever a registered recipient 2600B directs payment to be made to aregistered seller, which may be the processing agent 130, funds in theamount of the purchase, less the amount of the gift certificate, will bedebited from the account associated with the registered recipient 2600B.The electronic gift certificate/offset amount of the purchase price willbe either paid by the processing agent 130, or upon agreement with theregistered seller, waived by the registered seller.

[0221] If the operations of step 2710 determine that the recipient isunregistered, the operations and communications depicted in FIGS. 28 and29 are executed. Following step 2710 of FIG. 27, the initial state ofthe stored electronic gift certificate request is marked as “submittedfor non-enrolled recipient,” step 2920B and communication 2820B. Thistriggers the next step.

[0222] A notice is delivered to the non-enrolled recipient 1800C,preferably via e-mail, that an electronic gift certificate is availableand that the non-enrolled recipient must become a registered member ofthe enclosed community 201 to receive the electronic gift certificate,communication 2860 and step 2960. This communication preferably includesat least the name and e-mail address of the registered donor.

[0223] If the registered donor's account is to be debited, a pendingdebit transaction is created against the donor's account and stored indatabase 1805, step 2961 and communication 2880. This can include, inaddition to other information, the registered donor's name, unique useridentifier, gift certificate amount, and date the gift certificaterequest is initiated by the registered donor.

[0224] If the non-enrolled recipient chooses to enroll, the abovedescribed registration procedures are followed to register thenon-enrolled recipient 1800C, step 2965.

[0225] Once the recipient is registered, the state of the giftcertificate request is changed to “submitted for enrolled recipient,”step 2970 and communication 2870. Processing continues as depicted instep 2725 of FIG. 27. If the donor's account is not to be debited,operations continue with step 2755.

[0226] Alternatively, if the donor's account is to be debited to fundthe electronic gift certificate, the account may be debited prior to therecipient registering.

[0227] If, after a predetermined period, the non-enrolled recipient doesnot enroll, the gift certificate will expire. Processing agent 130notifies the registered donor, preferably via e-mail, that the recipienthas not enrolled and that the transaction is cancelled. And, as above,if the recipient does not register, the donor's account will be creditedif it was debited prior to notifying the recipient of the electronicgift certificate.

[0228] In yet another alternative, if the donor's account is to bedebited, the amount of the electronic gift certificate may not bedebited from the account associated with the registered donor 2600Auntil the registered recipient 2600B elects to use the electronic giftcertificate.

[0229] The enclosed community 201 grows by adding registered users. Aregistered user may invite an unregistered user to join the enclosedcommunity 201. The registered user only need provide the e-mail addressof an unregistered party, and optionally the party's name, andprocessing agent 130 invites the unregistered user to join, preferablyvia an e-mail communication. The processing agent 130 may present to theregistered user a Web page on which to enter the invitation information,such as the e-mail address and name of the unregistered user. It shouldbe understood that a registered user may combine an invitation toanother party to join the enclosed community 201 along with anelectronic gift payment/certificate, as discussed above, to entice theparty to become a member of the enclosed community 201.

[0230] The processing agent 130 can combine delivery of an electronicgift payment with delivery of an electronic greeting card (e-card).Thus, a registered user is not only able to send a gift via e-mail, butalso able to send an electronic greeting card along with the gift. Thee-card itself, or the message that provides notification of the link tofollow to receive the e-card, can serve to inform a recipient of a giftpayment. In a first alternative, the processing agent 130 performs allfunctions necessary to deliver an e-card with a gift attached. Theprocessing to send an e-card with an electronic gift payment is muchlike the above-described processing to send only an electronic giftpayment, and as such, the following processing will be described withreference to the figures relating to electronic gift payments.

[0231] A registered user submits a request to the processing agent 130to send an e-card with an electronic gift payment. The processing agent130 stores a selection of e-cards from which a registered user canchoose in memory 1170. The processing agent 130 presents this selectionto the registered user. The functionality to present a selection ofelectronic greeting cards will be understood by one skill in the art,and as such will not be described in detail here. Also as will beunderstood by one skilled in the art, the registered user selects a cardand submits this selection to the processing agent 130, along with anytext the user may specify to be included in the e-card.

[0232] As in step 1901B of FIG. 19A, the registered user must provide atleast his unique identifier, optionally, password if required, therecipient's unique identifier, or e-mail address, and payment amount.This information may be supplied prior to the selection of an e-card,with the selection of an e-card, or subsequent to selection of ane-card. Processing agent 130 stores the e-card request in database 1805with an appropriate persistent indicator of “gift payment with e-card,”as in step 1906.

[0233] The processing agent 130 determines if the recipient is aregistered member of the enclosed community 201, as in step 1910. If therecipient is registered, the initial state of the stored gift paymentwith e-card request is marked “submitted for enrolled recipient.” Thistriggers the next step.

[0234] As in steps 1925 and 1930, the processing agent 130 initiates adebit of funds from a donor's account and the state of the gift paymentwith e-card request is changed to “debit initiated.” And, also as above,once the corresponding credit has been made to the processing agent's130 account, the state of the request is changed to “debit approved.”

[0235] Once the corresponding credit is made to the processing agent's130 account, the e-card is sent via e-mail to the recipient. An enrolledrecipient's e-mail address will be known to the processing agent 130.The presentation of the e-card may be accomplished in one of at leasttwo ways, as will also be understood by one skilled in the art. In afirst way, the e-mail message sent to the recipient may comprise theentire e-card. That is, the e-mail message is the e-card. Or, in asecond way, the e-mail may contain a hyper-link back to the processingagent 130. By following this link, the e-card is displayed to therecipient via a unique web page.

[0236] The contents of the e-card, whether presented to the recipient inthe first way or the second way, inform the recipient that he hasreceived a gift, as well as convey any additional text specified by thedonor. The e-card may contain text informing the recipient of the amountof the gift payment and the identity of the donor.

[0237] The movement of funds to a registered recipient can take place atleast two ways. In a first way, a credit to the registered recipient'saccount, from funds in the processing agent's 130 account, can beinitiated before or concurrent with the sending of the e-card to therecipient. As described above, the state of the request is changed to“funds credited to recipient” upon this crediting. In such a case, thee-card also informs the recipient that funds have been deposited intohis account. When the e-card is sent to the recipient, the state of therequest is changed to “recipient notified of funds crediting.”

[0238] In a second way, the e-card includes a hyper-link which, asabove, when followed by the registered recipient, initiates thedebit/credit pair after the recipient has identified himself to theprocessing agent 130. Thus, the debit from the processing agent's 130account is not initiated until after the recipient receives the e-cardand follows the link. If the funds move in the second way, the state ofthe request is changed to “recipient notified of funds availability”upon the e-mail being sent. Upon the recipient following the hyper-link,identifying himself, and the credit being initiated to the recipient'saccount, the state of the request is changed to “funds credited torecipient.”

[0239] If the processing agent 130 determines that the recipient isunregistered, the initial state of the request is set as “submitted fornon-enrolled recipient,” as in step 1920B above. The debit from thedonor's account may be initiated prior to, or concurrent with, thesending of the e-card to the unregistered recipient.

[0240] The e-card sent to an unregistered recipient includes a noticethat an electronic gift payment is available and that the recipient mustregister to receive the gift payment. The e-card can include ahyper-link, which when followed, presents an enrollment page to theunregistered recipient. Upon successfully registering, the recipient canobtain the gift payment.

[0241] If the debit from the donor's account is to be initiated afterthe recipient registers, a pending debit transaction is created againstthe donor's account, as in step 1961. Once the recipient successfullyregisters, the state of the request is changed to “submitted forenrolled recipient,” as in step 1970. Processing then continues asdescribed above to move funds from the donor's account into therecipient's account.

[0242] If the debit from the donor's account is initiated, and thecorresponding credit to the processing agent's 130 account has beenmade, prior to the user becoming successfully registered, the debit fromthe processing agent's 130 account to the recipient's account can beinitiated immediately upon successful registration. If the unregistereduser does not successfully register, the funds debited from the donor'saccount will be credited back to the donor's account. As discussedabove, funds may be credited back to the donor's account if apredetermined amount of time lapses and the recipient is not yetregistered.

[0243] In a second alternative to deliver an e-card with an electronicgift payment, the processing agent 130 works in conjunction with anotherentity, which may be a sponsor, to offer e-cards with gift payments. Theother entity will be referred to herein as an e-card site. An e-cardsite offers the service of sending electronic greeting cards. In a firstscenario in the second alternative, the e-card site presents an optionto a network user sending an e-card to send a gift payment with thee-card. The processing agent 130 performs the functions to execute theelectronic gift payment, while the e-card site performs the functions tocreate and deliver the e-card.

[0244] The e-card site first performs the functions necessary to deliveran e-card to the recipient, as will be understood by one skilled in theart. This includes presenting the selection of e-cards to the donor andreceiving information from the donor, such as the selected e-card, therecipient's e-mail address, and any additional text the donor wishesincluded with the e-card. Additionally, the e-card site may receive thepayment amount specified by the donor.

[0245] Upon the donor selecting the option to attach a gift paymentpresented by the e-card site, the processing agent 130 performs thefunctions necessary to include the electronic gift payment. A hyper-linkmay be presented to the donor directing the donor to the processingagent 130, or the e-card site may establish a communication session withthe processing agent 130 via an API. The e-card site may transmit someor all information associated with the e-card to the processing agent130. This can include information about the donor and/or the recipientmaintained by the e-card site, and the payment amount.

[0246] If the e-card site provides information about the donor, theprocessing agent 130 determines if the donor is registered from thisinformation. If no donor information is provided by the e-card site, thedonor either provides his unique identifier to the processing agent 130,else he registers. If the e-card site provides recipient information,the processing agent 130 then determines if the recipient is registered.Else, the donor may be required to transmit to the processing agentinformation identifying the recipient, such as the recipient's uniqueidentifier, or the recipient's e-mail address. The donor will providethe payment amount to the processing agent 130 if not provided to theprocessing agent 130 by the e-card site.

[0247] If the recipient is registered, the processing agent 130 informsthe e-card site that the recipient is registered. The e-card site thenincludes in the e-card the appropriate information, discussed above, tobe included in an e-card for a registered recipient. If this includes ahyper-link to initiate the credit to the recipient's account, it shouldbe understood that this will be a hyper-link back to the processingagent 130. The particular information to be included in the e-card maybe provided by the processing agent 130 to the e-card site.

[0248] The e-card site sends the e-card to the recipient via e-mail. Asdiscussed above, the e-mail may be the entire e-card, or the e-mail mayinclude a hyper-link back to the e-card site.

[0249] If the processing agent 130 determines that the recipient isunregistered, the processing agent 130 informs the e-card site of thisand the e-card site includes the appropriate text and hyper-link,described above, for an unregistered recipient in the e-card. Theparticular information may be supplied by the processing agent 130 tothe e-card site.

[0250] In a second scenario in the second alternative, the processingagent 130 controls the channel of communication with the recipient. Thatis, the processing agent 130 sends the e-card to the recipient. In sucha scenario, the e-card site forwards the information pertaining to thee-card, and perhaps the e-card itself, to the processing agent 130.Thereinafter, the processing agent 130 performs the above-describedfunctions to attach a gift payment and then sends the e-card to therecipient.

[0251] As should be apparent, the processing agent 130 also provides thefunctionality to include an electronic gift certificate with an e-card.The processing to include an electronic gift certificate with an e-card,in either the first or the second alternatives, is essentially the sameas that of including an electronic gift payment. Instead of requestingan electronic gift payment, a donor requests an electronic giftcertificate. Thereinafter, the processing to attach an electronic giftcertificate to an e-card is the same as to attach an electronic giftpayment to an e-card. The processing agent 130 or the e-card site maypresent an option to send either an electronic gift payment or anelectronic gift certificate. Also, an electronic gift payment and anelectronic gift certificate may be sent attached to the same e-card.

[0252] When a registered recipient of either an electronic gift paymentor an electronic gift certificate, whether combined with an e-card ornot, must follow a hyper-link to initiate the funds being credited intohis account, additional benefits of the processing agent 130 arise. Therecipient may donate the funds to a second recipient, registered orunregistered, by merely forwarding the notice of funds availability toanother entity via e-mail. When the second recipient follows the linkand identifies himself to the processing agent 130, and registers ifnecessary, he can then receive the funds or gift certificate donated bythe original donor.

[0253] If, as discussed above, processing agent 130 accepts a user intothe enclosed community 201 even though that user's account is notelectronically debitable and/or creditable, processing of payments isdifferent than described above. Debits to the registered user's accountcan be made by drafts prepared by processing agent 130 and drawn on theregistered user's account. Credits to the account can be made by eitherchecks or drafts drawn on the account associated with the processingagent 130 or another registered user. Additionally, debits and creditsto the account may be made by wire transfer directed by the processingagent 130.

[0254] Other options for payment processing other than a DDA includecredit cards associated with the registered user, debits and/or creditsmade via an automated teller machine (ATM) network or a point-of-sale(POS) network from and/or to the registered user's account, debits fromand/or credits to a stored value account, and debits from and/or creditsto lines of credit. A stored value account is an account, typically notmaintained at a financial institution, that is pre-populated with amonetary value. Additionally, debits can be made by a debitauthorization wherein funds availability is verified and funds arereserved.

[0255] When any of these optional payment methods are used, as will berecognized by one skilled in the art, processing agent 130 must obtaininformation from the registered user pertaining to each of these paymentmethods. This information can be obtained during registration at step410, FIG. 4, or any time thereafter.

[0256] Processing agent 130 also may effect these optional paymentmethods for registered users whose demand deposit accounts areelectronically debitable and/or creditable. In such a case, theregistered user may specify which payment method to use on aper-transaction basis, or processing agent 130 may make this decision ona per-transaction basis. Or, processing agent 130 may make the decisionto make all transactions involving a particular registered user by aparticular payment method.

[0257] Processing agent 130 may charge a fee in providing each of theabove-described services. This fee may be paid by the seller, donor,purchaser, or recipient. Or, the fee may be split between the seller andpurchaser or the donor and recipient. For split fees, each party to atransaction may pay a different percent of the total fee charged by theprocessing agent 130. Fees may be levied when funds are debited from apurchaser account. That is, a fee in excess of a purchase price may bedebited from a purchaser's account. Or, fees may be levied when fundsare credited to a seller's account. That is, funds in an amount lessthan a purchase price may be credited to a seller's account. Fees may belevied when funds are debited from a donor's account. That is, an amountin excess of a donated amount may be debited from a donor's account. Or,fees may be levied when funds are credited to a recipient's account.That is, funds in an amount less than a donated amount may be creditedto a recipient's account. Additionally, fees may vary depending upon theamount of a transaction, a volume of transactions associated with aregistered user, the identity of a user, or the identity of a sponsorthrough which a user has registered.

[0258] As discussed above, processing agent 130 stores information indatabases in memory 1170 relating to services performed by processingagent 130. It should be understood that each of the above-describeddatabases may be the same single database. The unique user identifierassociated with each registered user enables processing agent 130 tostore information relating to each transaction to which each registereduser has been a party. The stored information includes each stepperformed by, and each communication sent or received by, the processingagent 130 to render a service. This includes the dates and the times thesteps and communications are performed. Thus, processing agent 130maintains a history of the services utilized and transactions effectedinvolving each registered user. This information may be stored in asingle database for all transactions and/or in databases associated witheach service offered by the processing agent 130. Processing agent 130also records the status of all current transactions in memory 1170. Atany time a registered user can contact processing agent 130 to obtaininformation on past or current transactions that user directed, oroptionally of which that user was a party. The processing agent 130 mayallow a user access to only a portion of the information stored. Theamount of information made available to a user may be varied dependentupon the identity of the user, the user's status as a payer or payee, orthe type of transaction, among other factors.

[0259] It will also be recognized by those skilled in the art that,while the invention has been described above in terms of one or morepreferred embodiments, it is not limited thereto. Various features andaspects of the above described invention may be used individually orjointly. Further, although the invention has been described in thecontext of its implementation in a particular environment and forparticular purposes, e.g. electronic payments, those skilled in the artwill recognize that its usefulness is not limited thereto and that thepresent invention can be beneficially utilized in any number ofenvironments and implementations. Accordingly, the claims set forthbelow should be construed in view of the full breadth and spirit of theinvention as disclosed herein.

We claim:
 1. A method for integrated event tracking of an electronicescrow transaction, comprising: receiving an instruction from apurchaser, via a network, to effect an electronic escrow transactionassociated with a sale, made via the network, of goods or services froma seller; directing at least one network communication with each of thepurchaser, the seller and at least one financial institution ineffecting the electronic escrow transaction; and storing a log of eachcommunication, including the instruction, associated with the electronicescrow transaction
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:initiating a debit from an account associated with the purchaser;storing an indication of the initiation of the debit from the purchaseraccount; initiating a credit to an account associated with the seller;and storing an indication of the initiation of the credit to the selleraccount.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: initiating adebit from an account associated with a processing agent; and storing anindication of the initiation of the debit from the processing agentaccount.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: initiating acredit to an account associated with the seller; and storing anindication of the initiation of the credit to the seller account;wherein the credit to the seller account is a corresponding credit tothe debit from the processing agent account.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising: transmitting a notice, via the network, to theseller that funds from an account associated with the purchaser areavailable and that the seller should ship the goods to, or provide theservice for, the purchaser; and storing an indication that the noticehas been transmitted to the seller.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein:the notice is transmitted after at least one of (i) a predeterminedperiod, beginning at initiation of a debit to an account associated witha purchaser, has elapsed, or (ii) funds from the purchaser account arecredited to an account associated with a service provider.
 7. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: receiving, via the network, a firstnotice of one of (i) the goods having been shipped, or (ii) the serviceshaving been performed; storing an indication that the first notice hasbeen received; transmitting a second notice, via the network, to thepurchaser that the seller has one of (i) shipped the goods to thepurchaser, or (ii) performed the services for the purchaser; and storingan indication that the second notice has been transmitted to thepurchaser; wherein the first notice is received from at least one of (i)a shipping agent, or (ii) the seller.
 8. The method of claim 7, whereinthe first notice includes a delivery tracking number.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving, via the network, a notice of oneof (i) the goods having been received from the seller and beingacceptable, or (ii) the services having been acceptably performed by theseller; and storing an indication that the notice has been received;wherein the notice is received from at least one of (i) the seller, (ii)a shipping agent, or (iii) the purchaser.
 10. The method of claim 9,further comprising: initiating a credit to an account associated withthe seller; and storing an indication of the initiation of the credit tothe seller account; wherein the credit to the seller account isinitiated subsequent to receiving the notice.
 11. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving, via the network, a notice of one of (i)the goods having been shipped by the seller, or (ii) the services havingbeen performed by the seller; initiating a credit to an accountassociated with the seller; storing an indication that the notice hasbeen received; and storing an indication of the initiation of the creditto the seller account; wherein the credit to the seller account isinitiated after a predetermined period, beginning at receipt of thenotice; and wherein the notice is received from at least one of (i) theseller, or (ii) a shipping agent.
 12. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving, via the network, a notice of one of (i) the goodshaving been received from the seller and being unacceptable, (ii) thegoods having not been received from the seller, (iii) the serviceshaving not been acceptably performed by the seller, or (iv) the serviceshaving not been performed by the seller; and storing an indication thatthe notice has been received.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein thenotice includes a notice to suspend a pending credit to an accountassociated with the seller
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein thenotice includes a notice to reverse a debit to an account associatedwith the purchaser.
 15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving, via the network, a first notice that the goods have beenreturned shipped to the seller; storing an indication that the firstnotice has been received; transmitting to the seller, via the network, asecond notice that the goods have been returned shipped from thepurchaser; and storing an indication that the second notice has beentransmitted to the seller; wherein the first notice is received from atleast one of (i) the purchaser, or (ii) a shipping agent.
 16. The methodof claim 15, wherein the first notice includes a delivery trackingnumber.
 17. The method of claim 15, further comprising: receiving, viathe network, a third notice that the goods have been received by theseller; and storing an indication that the third notice has beenreceived; wherein the third notice is received from at least one of (i)the seller, or (ii) the shipping agent.
 18. The method of claim 1,further comprising: initiating a credit to an account associated withthe purchaser; and storing an indication of the initiation of the creditto the purchaser account; wherein the credit to the purchaser account isinitiated at after least one of (i) upon receipt of a notice, via thenetwork from at least one of the seller or a shipping agent, that thegoods have been delivered to the seller, or (ii) after a predeterminedperiod, beginning at a notification to the seller that the purchaser hasshipped the goods to the seller, has elapsed.
 19. The method of claim 1,wherein the goods or services are goods or services purchased from anInternet auction.
 20. The method of claim 1, further comprising:initiating a debit from an account associated with the purchaser;initiating a credit to an escrow account associated with a processingagent; initiating a debit to the escrow account associated with theprocessing agent; initiating a credit to an account associated with theseller; storing an indication of the initiation of the debit to thepurchaser account; and storing an indication of the initiation of thecredit to the seller account.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein thecredit to the escrow account is a corresponding credit to the debit fromthe purchaser account.
 22. The method of claim 20, wherein the credit tothe seller account is a corresponding credit to the debit from theescrow account.
 23. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receivingthe instruction via a web page generated subsequent to the purchaserselecting a hyper-link presented to the purchaser by an Internet website selling goods or services; wherein the web page presented to thepurchaser includes details of the sale.
 24. The method of claim 1,wherein the stored logged communications include an indication of thedate and time each communication is received or transmitted.
 25. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: retrieving any of the logged andstored communications.
 26. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving, from a shipping agent, a first notice that goods have beendelivered to the purchaser; storing an indication that the first noticehas been received; receiving, from the purchaser, a second notice thatthe delivered goods are acceptable; storing an indication that thesecond notice has been received; and initiating a credit to an accountassociated with the seller.
 27. The method of claim 26, wherein: thecredit to the account associated with the seller is initiated after atleast one of (i) a predetermined period, beginning upon receipt of thefirst notice, has elapsed, or (ii) receipt of the second notice.
 28. Asystem for integrated event tracking of an electronic escrowtransaction, comprising: a communications port configured to receive andto transmit information via a network; a processor in communication withthe communications port and configured to direct at least one networkcommunication with each of a purchaser, a seller and at least onefinancial institution in effecting an electronic escrow transactionarising out of a sale of goods or services made via a network, and tolog and store each communication associated with the electronic escrowtransaction; and a memory in communication with the processor andconfigured to store the logged communications.
 29. The system of claim28, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive aninstruction from the purchaser, via network communication, to effect theelectronic escrow transaction; and store an indication of the receivedinstruction in the memory.
 30. The system of claim 28, wherein theprocessor is further configured to: initiate a debit from an accountassociated with the purchaser; store an indication in the memory of theinitiation of the debit from the purchaser account; initiate a credit toan account associated with the seller; and store an indication in thememory of the initiation of the credit to the seller account.
 31. Thesystem of claim 28, wherein the processor is further configured to:initiate a debit from an account associated with a processing agent; andstore an indication in the memory of the initiation of the debit fromthe processing agent account.
 32. The system of claim 31, wherein: theprocessor is further configured to initiate a credit to an accountassociated with the seller and store an indication in the memory of theinitiation of the credit to the seller account; and the credit to theseller account is a corresponding credit to the debit from theprocessing agent account.
 33. The system of claim 28, wherein theprocessor is further configured to: transmit a notice, via networkcommunication, to the seller that funds from an account associated withthe purchaser are available and that the seller should ship the goodsto, or provide the service for, the purchaser; and store an indicationin the memory that the notice has been transmitted to the seller. 34.The system of claim 33, wherein the notice is transmitted after at leastone of (i) a predetermined period, beginning at initiation of a debit toan account associated with the purchaser, has elapsed, or (ii) fundsfrom the purchaser account are credited to an account associated with aprocessing agent.
 35. The system of claim 28, wherein the processor isfurther configured to: receive, via network communication, a firstnotice of (i) the goods having been shipped to the purchaser, or (ii)the services having been performed for the purchaser; store in thememory an indication that the first notice has been received; transmit asecond notice, via network communication, to the purchaser that theseller has one of (i) shipped the goods to the purchaser, or (ii)performed the services for the purchaser; and store in the memory anindication that the second notice has been transmitted to the purchaser.36. The system of claim 35, wherein the first notice includes a deliverytracking number.
 37. The system of claim 35, wherein the first notice istransmitted by at least one of (i) the seller, or (ii) a shipping agent.38. The system of claim 28, wherein the processor is further configuredto: receive, via network communication from at least one of thepurchaser, the seller, and a shipping agent, a notice of one of (i) thegoods having been received from the seller and being acceptable, or (ii)the services having been acceptably performed by the seller; and storein the memory an indication that the notice has been received.
 39. Thesystem of claim 38, wherein: the processor is further configured toinitiate a credit to an account associated with the seller and store anindication in the memory of the initiation of the credit to the selleraccount; and the credit to the seller account is initiated subsequent toreceiving the notice.
 40. The system of claim 28, wherein: the processoris further configured to receive, via network communication, a notice of(i) the goods having been shipped by the seller, or (ii) the serviceshaving been performed by the seller, initiate a credit to an accountassociated with the seller, store an indication in the memory of theinitiation of the credit to the seller account; the credit to the selleraccount is initiated after a predetermined period, beginning at receiptof the notice; and the notice is received from at least one of (i) theseller, or (ii) a shipping agent.
 41. The system of claim 28, whereinthe processor is further configured to: receive, via networkcommunication, a notice of one of (i) the goods having been receivedfrom the seller and being unacceptable, (ii) the goods having not beenreceived from the seller, (iii) the services having not been acceptablyperformed by the seller, or (iv) the services having not been performedby the seller; and store in the memory an indication that the notice hasbeen received.
 42. The system of claim 41, wherein the notice includes anotice to suspend a pending credit to an account associated with theseller.
 43. The system of claim 41, wherein the notice includes a noticeto reverse a debit to an account associated with the purchaser.
 44. Thesystem of claim 28, wherein the processor is further configured to:receive, via network communication from at least one of the purchaser ora shipping agent, a first notice that the goods have been returnedshipped to the seller; store in the memory an indication that the firstnotice has been received; transmit to the seller, via networkcommunication, a second notice that the goods have been returned shippedfrom the purchaser; and store in the memory an indication that thesecond notice has been transmitted to the seller.
 45. The system ofclaim 44, wherein the first notice includes a delivery tracking number.46. The system of claim 44, wherein the processor is further configuredto: receive, via network communication from at least one of the selleror a shipping agent, a third notice that the goods have been received bythe seller; and store in the memory an indication that the third noticehas been received.
 47. The system of claim 28, wherein: the processor isfurther configured to initiate a credit to an account associated withthe purchaser and store in the memory an indication of the initiation ofthe credit to the purchaser account; and the credit to the purchaseraccount is initiated after at least one of (i) receipt of a notice, vianetwork communication from a least one of the seller or a shippingagent, that the goods have been returned to the seller by the purchaserand accepted by the seller, or (ii) a predetermined period, beginning ata notification to the seller that the purchaser has shipped the goods tothe seller, has elapsed.
 48. The system of claim 28, wherein the goodsor services are goods or services purchased from an internet auction.49. The system of claim 28, wherein the processor is further configuredto: initiate a debit from an account associated with the purchaser;initiate a credit to an escrow account associated with a processingagent; initiate a debit to the escrow account associated with theprocessing agent; initiate a credit to an account associated with theseller; store an indication in the memory of the initiation of the debitto the purchaser account; and store an indication in the memory of theinitiation of the credit to the seller account.
 50. The system of claim49, wherein the credit to the escrow account is a corresponding creditto the debit from the purchaser account.
 51. The system of claim 49,wherein the credit to the seller account is a corresponding credit tothe debit from the escrow account.
 52. The system of claim 28, wherein:the communications port is further configured to receive an instruction,via a web page generated subsequent to the purchaser selecting ahyper-link presented to the purchaser by an Internet web site sellinggoods or services, to direct execution of an electronic escrowtransaction for a sale transaction; and the web page presented to thepurchaser includes details of the purchase made from the internet website.
 53. The system of claim 28, wherein the stored loggedcommunications include an indication of the date and time of eachcommunication's direction or receipt.
 54. The system of claim 28,wherein the processor is further configured to retrieve any of thestored communications from the memory.
 55. The system of claim 28,wherein the processor is further configured to (i) receive, from ashipping agent, a first notice that goods have been delivered to thepurchaser, (ii) store in the memory an indication that the first noticehas been received, (iii) receive, from the purchaser, a second noticethat the delivered goods are acceptable, (iv) store in the memory anindication that the second notice has been received, and (v) initiate acredit to an account associated with the seller.
 56. The system of claim55, wherein the credit to the seller account is initiated after at leastone of (i) a predetermined period, beginning upon receipt of the firstnotice, has elapsed, or (ii) receipt of the second notice.
 57. Anarticle of manufacture for integrated event tracking of an electronicescrow transaction, the article of manufacture comprising: a computerreadable medium; and computer programming stored on the medium; whereinthe stored computer programming is configured to be readable from thecomputer readable medium by a computer to thereby cause the computer tooperate so as to: receive an instruction from a purchaser, via anetwork, to effect an electronic escrow transaction associated with asale, made via the network, of goods or services from a seller; directat least one network communication with each of the purchaser, theseller and at least one financial institution in effecting theelectronic escrow transaction; and store a log of each communicationassociated with the electronic escrow transaction in a memory.